BRUSSELS DAILY - 21 MARCH 2026
European Council splits publicly on Ukraine loan facility as 25 member states isolate Hungary and Slovakia; Commission adopts EU-U.S. data adequacy decision enabling transatlantic data flows
Commission adopts EU-US data adequacy decision enabling transatlantic data flows
European Commission adopted new adequacy decision on 20 March enabling safe EU-US data flows. Decision replaces previous Privacy Shield framework struck down by EU courts.
Parliament International Trade Committee advances EU-US Turnberry tariff regulations
INTA committee approved implementing regulations for EU-US Turnberry Agreement tariff provisions including steel and agricultural adjustments. Full plenary vote pending.
Commission imposes definitive anti-dumping duties on phosphorous acid imports from China
European Commission imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on phosphorous acid from China on 18 March under trade defense instrument authority.
DRIVING THE DAY
SUMMARY: The European Council on 19 March adopted formal conclusions with an unprecedented procedural split — 25 of 27 member states issued a separate statement condemning Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor ORBÁN's continued blockage of the €90 billion Ukraine loan facility backed by frozen Russian assets, explicitly accusing ORBÁN of "unacceptable disloyalty" and electoral manipulation 24 days ahead of Hungary's 13 April parliamentary election, while Slovakia joined Hungary in refusing to sign the Ukraine support text. European Council President António COSTA in doorstep remarks directly criticized ORBÁN for "betraying European solidarity," and Commission President Ursula VON DER LEYEN pledged the European Union would deliver the funds "one way or the other" despite the veto — marking the bloc's most direct institutional confrontation with Budapest since Hungary's 2004 accession. The European Commission on 20 March adopted a new adequacy decision under Article 45 of the General Data Protection Regulation enabling safe EU-U.S. data flows, replacing the Privacy Shield framework invalidated by the Court of Justice in July 2020 and resolving a three-year transatlantic regulatory deadlock that forced companies to rely on standard contractual clauses. The European Parliament International Trade (INTA) Committee on 19 March adopted implementing regulations for the EU-U.S. Turnberry Agreement tariff provisions, advancing steel and agricultural duty adjustments toward Council conclusion and plenary vote. The European Court of Justice delivered an opinion on 19 March affirming member state authority to ban Huawei Technologies equipment from 5G telecommunications networks under national security grounds, dealing a blow to industry resistance and consolidating the Union's technology sovereignty stance against Chinese infrastructure access. END SUMMARY.
