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On 24 September 2025, the EU and Ecuador paved the way for further cooperation. The new agreement builds on the 2023 working agreement establishing cooperative relations with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Ecuador. The previous agreement did not allow for the …

From 22 to 24 October 2025, investigators, auditors and external aid experts discussed new patterns and risks affecting international development assistance. The annual InvestigAid conference was held in Bucharest, Romania, co-organised by OLAF and the Romanian Agency for International Development (RoAid).Discussion points included the …

On 7 and 8 October 2025, OLAF and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) brought together over 100 participants from 57 countries to discuss current trends and best practices in the fight against counterfeits and violations of intellectual property in the e-commerce sector. The …

According to Advocate General (AG) Dean Spielmann, the Spanish law "on amnesty for institutional, political and social normalisation in Catalonia" ("the LOA"), passed in June 2024, which includes an exemption from criminal liability for terrorist offences in the context of the Catalan independence movement is neither in breach of the EU's Directive on combating terrorism nor certain general principles of EU law.

According to Advocate General (AG) Dean Spielmann, the Spanish amnesty law, which exempts politicians and officials from liability in connection with the unlawful independence referendum in Catalonia on 1 October 2017, and acts carried out in connection with the Catalan independence process, does not conflict with Union law on the protection of the EU's financial interests. However, certain provisions may be incompatible with the right to effective judicial protection.

While Commission President Ursula von der Leyen defended the proposal for the next multiannual financial framework for the period 2028-2034, criticism from the part of MEPs is growing. They fear a re-nationalisation of the financing plans and call for a better protection by means of the Conditionality mechanism.

On 9 October 2025, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published its annual reports for the 2024 financial year. The auditors concluded that the EU’s accounts for 2024 give a true and fair view, and that revenue transactions were error-free. However, they note issues …

On 14 November 2025, the Commission proposed legislative amendment that will empower EPPO and OLAF with immediate access to VAT data exchanged at the EU level via the Eurofisc network.

In August 2025, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) released a paper that provides an overview of the implementation of Regulation 2020/2092 on the general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (the "Conditionality Regulation"). The Regulation aims to protect the EU …

This news item continues eucrim’s overview of worrying rule-of-law developments in Hungary as far as implications on Union Law, in particular the protection for the EU’s financial interests, are concerned. It reports on the developments in 2025 and follows up on the overview in eucrim 4/2024, 262-264.