The 2028-2034 budget: competitiveness tops the agenda. On 15 September the President of the European Council António Costa met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, as part of his tour of the 27 capitals on the negotiations for the new Multiannual Financial Framework. Italy is calling for a budget matching the Union's strategic priorities and shares the proposal to put competitiveness first on the agenda of the October European Council, noting that rising energy prices require immediate action. Costa is aiming for an agreement by the end of the year.
Labour mobility: a social passport and digital qualifications. Also on 15 September the Commission adopted the fair labour mobility package: a European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS) bringing social security documents online — including the European Health Insurance Card and the Portable Document A1 for posted workers —, a «Skills Portability Act» on digital qualifications, a strengthened European Labour Authority and new rules on regulated professions, whose recognition would fall from three months to five weeks. For qualifications obtained outside the Union, procedures would go from fourteen months to four.
CBAM extended to downstream products. The European Parliament adopted its position on extending the carbon border adjustment mechanism beyond basic raw materials to a broad list of finished steel and aluminium products — fasteners, wire, springs, household articles — going further than the Commission's proposal. Parliament also adopted its position on the temporary decarbonisation fund, which MEPs want operational from 2027 and extended to fertiliser producers.
ETS: the market stability reserve. On the same day Parliament set out its position on the ETS market stability reserve: keeping the cancellation of surplus allowances, but raising the threshold from 400 to 650 million as of 1 February 2027. It also gave final approval to the agreement with the Council on the ETS2 reserve — buildings and road transport — requiring Member States to give priority to social measures when using auction revenues.
Exports: the dual-use control list updated. On 14 September the Commission adopted the delegated regulation updating Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821, aligning it with the decisions of the multilateral control regimes. Newly listed items include semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials, integrated circuits for advanced computing, inductive-sensing rotary encoders and technologies for gas turbine axial compressors: exporters of these goods should check their authorisation status.
