The EU has taken a step forward in agreeing a new Directive on the right to repair , which, as the name suggests, will prioritise the repair of damaged products over their replacement and will affect all businesses involved in the production or supply of goods to or within EU Member States. This month, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU adopted their positions on the European Commission's proposal . Negotiations between the three institutions to agree on a final proposal will now start in December 2023 and, with an envisaged 24-month transition period, the new rules could apply from the second half of 2026. The European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, tacitly acknowledged the complexity of the framework sustainable EU financing published three explanatory notes on key aspects of the framework. The notes explain the concept of sustainability, the principle of “do no significant harm” and the use of estimates or “equivalent information” as data sources for preparing ESG reporting metrics.

Meanwhile, the EU continues to expand its rulebook on sustainable finance. This month, the EU took the final step towards expanding EU taxonomy – its classification system of which economic activities are considered “environmentally sustainable” – by publishing them in its Official Journal. The extension, first announced at the beginning of the year, will apply from January 2024. The taxonomy now addresses non-climate-related environmental objectives (such as the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems), as well as the inclusion of other activities (such as the production of components for low-carbon transport) to meet climate-related environmental objectives.