On 11 February 2026, the Council of the EU formally abolished the de minimis exemption – and thus the duty-free status – for small parcel shipments under
€ 150, a threshold that had resulted in millions of parcels flooding the EU-market. Starting in July 2026, a flat customs duty of € 3 per parcel will be introduced as an interim measure until the EU customs reform is completed in 2028. We spoke with Mykyta Sobko, a trade and customs policy expert at BEUC, about the challenges and opportunities presented by the customs reform.

This week, on February 11, 2026, the Council also formally confirmed the abolition of the so-called de minimis exemption for small parcel shipments under 150 Euro. This threshold had promoted a business model based on sending millions of individual parcels directly to consumers. A model that, in addition to having a major environmental impact and flooding the EU market with harmful and dangerous products, also overwhelms customs authorities in the EU due to the huge volume of shipments.

The EU Parliament is currently engaged in intense negotiations on the Omnibus I, with which the EU Commission has proposed to significantly restrict the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). It is already becoming apparent ahead of the upcoming vote that the EU Parliament will vote for watering down the CSDDD. This is very unfortunate: As shown by a new study led by Prof. Johannes Jäger, the CSDDD would offer an opportunity to enforce human rights while strengthening the European economy.

15 percent tariffs on EU industrial products in the US, while at the same time free of tariffs for US products in the EU, create a significant imbalance in the future trade relations between the EU and the US. The EU's billion-dollar investment commitments in the US further exacerbate this imbalance. The tariff gap between steel and aluminium is particularly drastic. In addition, the deal once again puts pressure on key EU initiatives such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

Even before implementing this directive in the Member States, EU institutions have currently been working on ultimately reversing key elements of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive as part of the Sustainability Omnibus or Omnibus I. The potential impact of Omnibus I was discussed this week at a joint event organised by AK EUROPA, the ÖGB European Office, ETUC, ECCJ and FoEE.

On 26 February 2025, the EU Commission presented the first of several omnibus packages (Omnibus I). Key instruments of the Green Deal will be weakened, in particular the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Forced labour is widespread globally and affects around 28 million people. In the Indian state of Maharashtra, agricultural workers harvesting sugarcane are forced into debt bondage. The ongoing negotiations on the EU-India Strategic Partnership provided the framework for a joint event hosted by AK EUROPA and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels on 8 April 2025. Labour rights activist Chandan Kumar reported on the exploitation of sugarcane workers and organising under difficult conditions.

Trump's economic policy, often referred to as ”Trumponomics”, is currently dominating the debate in Brussels. The US president aims to reshape the US through massive fiscal and trade measures. This also poses significant challenges for Europe. A few weeks after Donald Trump was sworn into office for a second time, it is worth giving an initial overview of his plans and their impact.

By simplifying legislation, the EU Commission wants to increase the EU's competitiveness and ease the burden on companies. In this spirit, the so-called Omnibus Packages I and II were presented on 26 February 2025. While these proposals are presented as measures to reduce bureaucracy they actually undermine important achievements for workers, the environment and climate. Recently adopted laws for more sustainability run the risk of losing their effect.

The EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been under negotiation for more than a quarter of a century. Only last month, the EU Commission reached a political agreement on it with the Mercosur countries and is now pushing for its ratification by 2025. Despite the promise of economic and geopolitical benefits, concerns remain about its environmental impact, labour standards, and political transparency.