EU – October 29, 2026 -- The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has recommended limiting the mandatory operating expenditure (OpEx) KPI under the EU Taxonomy to non-capitalised research and development expenditure, according to a Final Report submitted to the European Commission.

Prairieville, Louisiana – October 29, 2026 -- Hope Charities is backing H.R. 10549, a House bill that would bar commercial health plans from steering patients toward insurer- or PBM-owned specialty pharmacies, with the rules taking effect for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2029.

WASHINGTON – October 28, 2026 -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is pairing criminal prosecutions with new filing rules to pursue importers that conceal hazards, after an $8 million fine in April 2026 and prison terms of 38 and 40 months in June 2025. Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman set out the approach in a keynote at the 19th International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference in Bangkok.

Berlin -- The German Bundestag passed a law on October 15, 2026 that extends notarial video procedures to stock corporation (AG) formation, GmbH share transfers and powers of attorney for financing rounds. The new rules take effect on January 1, 2027, subject to Bundesrat review.

WASHINGTON – October 28, 2026 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on imports of van-type trailers and subassemblies from China. The orders will remain in effect for at least five years, according to the American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition (ATMC), which filed the underlying petitions.

Berlin – October 28, 2026 -- Property developers in Germany remain legally responsible for site safety even when they hand work to specialist contractors, and failing to act on visible hazards can lead to civil damages claims and, in serious cases, criminal liability, according to statutory accident insurer BG BAU.

Berlin – October 28, 2026 -- More than 80 percent of domestic workers worldwide labor without a contract or social protection, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). A commentary in the German daily nd.DerTag calls this a structural feature of an economy that devalues female employment, and demands binding rules from governments.

WASHINGTON – October 28, 2026 -- The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) has called for right heart failure (RHF) to be recognized as a distinct clinical syndrome rather than a secondary complication of left-sided heart disease, in a Scientific Statement published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.

Berlin – October 28, 2026 -- The European Union has formally asked Norway for a transition period of at least six months after publication of its final plant health rules. The request follows industry warnings that the draft could have significantly hampered EU nursery stock exports, according to the German Nursery Association (BdB).

Dusseldorf – October 27, 2026 -- Germany's industrial health economy generated about EUR 101.5 billion in gross value added in 2025, but slow certification and thin growth capital are keeping innovations out of clinical practice, according to a new paper from the Innovationsrat Deutschland.