The European Union and Finland have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. Finland transposed the Directive through a series of amendments to existing legislation in 2018, as well as with the Trade Secrets Act (595/2018) of 2018.

It is reported that passive sharing is mandated in Estonia, and it is practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements. In addition, Directive 2014/61/EU (Art. 3.2) establishes that Member States shall ensure that, upon written request of an undertaking providing or authorised to provide public communications networks, any network operator must meet all reasonable requests for access to its physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of high-speed electronic communications networks. Such written request shall specify the elements of the project for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame.

It is reported that the State of Finland owns 17.59% of the shares of Elisa Corporation. Elisa Corporation is one of the leading telecommunications service providers in the country and offers a wide range of services, including mobile telephony, broadband services, cable television, data services and business solutions.

It is reported that there is no requirement for functional separation for operators with significant market power in the telecom market. However, accounting separation is required in certain cases.

According to the Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455 of 5 December 2017, amending Directive 2006/112/EC and Directive 2009/132/EC as regards certain value-added tax obligations for supplies of services and distance sales of goods, the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 174, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Art. 18 (2) of Directive (EU) 2016/1148 establishes a local presence requirement, through the designation of a representative, for digital services providers not established in the Union but offering digital services within the Union. The types of digital services for the purposes of Art. 18 (2), referred to in Annex III, are online marketplace, online search engine and cloud computing services.

Art. 27 of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 requires a local representative for data controllers or processors not established in the EU.

According to Art. 13 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act), providers of intermediary services that do not have an establishment in the Union but offer services within the Union must designate, in writing, a legal or natural person as their legal representative in one of the Member States where they operate.
This obligation applies to providers of certain information society services, as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/1535, meaning any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient. In particular, it concerns providers of intermediary services, including services commonly referred to as ‘mere conduit’, ‘caching’, and ‘hosting’ services.

Through the amendment of Council Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014 and Council Decision (CFSP) 2014/512/CFSP by Council Regulation (EU) 2022/350 and Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/351, the European Union imposed sanctions on a number of Russian television channels in response to “Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine.” These measures entailed the suspension of broadcasting licences and distribution agreements, including cable distribution. The legal acts prohibit operators from enabling or facilitating the broadcasting of content by the sanctioned channels through any means, including IP-TV, internet service providers, video-sharing platforms, and applications. As a result, these channels were delisted from online search results and their social media accounts rendered inaccessible within the EU.
The EU has progressively expanded its list of sanctioned media outlets since the introduction of broadcasting bans under Art. 2f of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, included by Council Regulation (EU) 2022/350 of 1 March 2022. The first restrictions were imposed in March 2022, when RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik, along with their subsidiaries, were prohibited from broadcasting or distributing content within the EU. The measures were extended in June 2022 to include Rossiya RTR (RTR Planeta), Rossiya 24 (Russia 24), and TV Centre International. In December 2022, the ban was broadened to cover NTV, NTV Mir, Rossiya 1, REN TV, and Pervyi Kanal (Channel One). Following the tenth sanctions package of 25 February 2023, which entered into force in April 2023, the EU added RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic. The eleventh package, adopted in June 2023, further expanded the list to include RT Balkan, Oriental Review, Tsargrad TV Channel, New Eastern Outlook, and Katehon. In May 2024, the Council announced the inclusion of Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, measures formally tied to the fourteenth sanctions package of June 2024.

Regulation 2021/821 establishes that the export of dual-use items used for both civilian and military applications is subject to control, and these goods may not leave the EU customs territory without an export authorisation. Annex I identifies a range of dual-use items that face either authorisation requirements or outright bans for exportation outside of the EU, which include electronics, computers, telecommunications and information security. Regulation 2021/821 replaces the previous regulation on the matter (Regulation (EC) No. 428/2009), as subsequently amended and implemented by Regulation (EU) No. 1232/2011 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1922, respectively.

The European Union enforces export and import controls on Russia since 2014, with the implementation of Council Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014, and more extensively since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. A key element of these measures is Council Regulation (EU) No. 2022/328, adopted in February 2022, which prohibits the export, sale, supply, or transfer of various goods and technologies to Russia. Effective from 26 February 2022, this regulation specifically bans:
- The export of dual-use goods and technologies listed in Annex of Regulation (EU) 2021/821, affecting 6,251 goods under 929 six-digit tariff subheadings.
- The export of goods and technologies suited for use in aviation or the space industry, outlined in Annex XI, covering all products in tariff chapter 88.
This Regulation has been further complemented by several additional packages of sanctions on Russia, including measures such as bans on ICT goods—covering semiconductors, telecommunications equipment, and software—and restrictions on digital services like cloud computing. These sanctions also extend to the sale, licensing, transfer, or sharing of intellectual property rights and trade secrets that could benefit prohibited sectors or entities in Russia. Furthermore, the EU has imposed prohibitions on specific professional services, including business consultancy, legal advisory, and IT consultancy, significantly limiting Russia's access to critical expertise and resources essential for its economic and technological capabilities.
The last sanctions package ("Twelfth Package") was implemented by Council Regulation (EU) No.2023/2878, amending the Council Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014.

According to Art. 2 of Council Regulation (EU) No. 2023/1529 of 20 July 2023 Concerning Restrictive Measures in View of Iran’s Military Support of Russia’s War of Aggression Against Ukraine, it is prohibited to sell, supply, transfer, or export, directly or indirectly, goods and technology that might contribute to Iran’s capability to manufacture Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), as listed in Annex II, whether or not originating in the Union, to any natural or legal person, entity, or body in Iran, or for use in Iran.
Initially, the only relevant products included in Annex II were electronic integrated circuits, processors, and controllers (HS 854231 and HS 854239). However, the Regulation was amended in May 2024 to expand the list of restricted products, adding monolithic microwave integrated circuits, amplifiers, and devices (HS 854233) used in 5G, 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi, and satellite communication systems; fixed capacitors (HS 853221, HS 853222, and HS 853224); and memory integrated circuits (HS 854232), which are semiconductor devices designed to store data or program code.