On 19 October 2021, the European Commission has adopted its 2022 Work Programme in close cooperation with the European Parliament and the Member States. A yearly exercise, the Work Programme provides a roadmap on the measures to come and is expected to have an impact in a broad range of economic sectors.

The Work Programme contains 42 new legislative and non-legislative initiatives, revolving around the six Commission priorities for 2019-2024. Below some highlights that ACQUIS have gathered for you:

• Global role of the EU: noteworthy are the Joint Communication on a Partnership with the Gulf countries and the amendment of the Blocking Statute Regulation, which is expected to deal with the problems of EU companies affected by US extraterritorial sanctions.
• Climate and biodiversity: among others, a carbon removal certification framework, a revision of the CO₂ standards for heavy-duty vehicles, and an initiative on the sustainable use of pesticides, a bunch of measures that will have a significant impact on agri-food and transport sectors.
• Digital: initiatives such as a European Chips Act – to address future shortages of semiconductors, a European Cyber Resilience Act and a Plan for the digital transformation of the renewable energy industry, which will improve the ecosystem for the EU tech and energy sectors.
• Financial Services: noteworthy are the planned legislative proposals on instant payments and on open and digital finance.
• Chemicals: measures in this area will have far-reaching effects on EU businesses, as they include a review of the Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging, a restriction on microplastics and a review of the Detergents Regulation
• Health: an overhaul of the pharmaceutical legislation, long awaited by the pharma sector.

At ACQUIS we stand ready to keep you abreast of the major EU developments for the year ahead and assist you in managing policy and regulatory risks and opportunities. In the coming weeks, we will publish more in-depth briefings dedicated to the main areas of this 2022 Work Programme. Stay tuned!