Regulatory environment

Across Europe, there is a growing regulatory landscape with intensified enforcement from national and EU authorities. We are seeing heightened regulatory complexity, particularly in areas such as ESG, employment law, financial services, data governance and competition oversight. One source reported that “the overall trend in regulatory is that regulations are still getting tighter. The companies we advise face a lot of burden.”

Finalised in February 2026, the EU’s Omnibus I package introduced major amendments to the corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDDD), by reducing the reporting burden and limiting the trickle-down effect of obligations on smaller companies. This builds on the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) which came into force at the beginning of 2025, significantly expanding regulatory oversight over ICT (Information and Communication Technology) risks for banks, insurance companies, investment firms and other companies in the financial sector. Multiple sources across the continent report an uptick in work related to DORA, with one saying, “The practical implementation of NIS2 and DORA will significantly increase our need for legal guidance, particularly in areas such as reporting obligations, governance structures, third party risk and cross-border coordination.”

Regulators across Europe are also increasingly assertive. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets is “looking at where the boundaries of competition law lie and how far their powers go,” in the words of one interviewee. Another said, “we see the tax authorities are much more contentious, they are not afraid to take matters into court.”

Finally, the employment regulatory environment continues to tighten, driven by EU‑level reforms on pay transparency, whistleblowing and workforce equity.

Because of new regulations and directives, companies and in‑house teams increasingly need help with compliance planning, risk assessments and meeting the latest requirements.