The European Commission has disbursed the remaining €37 million to Cyprus related to the payment request for the second and third instalments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. In September 2024, the Commission concluded that one milestone concerning a reform to tackle aggressive tax planning was not satisfactorily fulfilled and …
On 27 July 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald J. Trump agreed a deal on tariffs and trade. The transatlantic partnership is a key artery of global trade and is the most significant bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world. EU-US trade in goods and services has doubled over the last decade, surpassing €1.6 trillion in 2024, …
The Commission welcomes the expression of interest from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Finland to access loans under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument. SAFE is expected to mobilise up to € 150 billion in investment. The early indication of interest will …
The European Commission presented its proposal for an ambitious and dynamic Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), amounting to almost EUR 2 trillion (or 1.26% of the EU’s gross national income on average between 2028 and 2034). This framework will equip Europe with a long-term investment budget matching its ambitions to be an independent, prosperous, secure, and …
The Commission published its sixth annual Rule of Law Report, examining rule of law developments in all Member States. This is the first report under the Commission’s new mandate. It consolidates the successful engagement with Member States based on a preventive and dialogue-based approach to strengthen the rule of law, and it is an important incentive for reform. The …
The European Commission has launched the first-ever European Capitals of Small Retail Awards. This initiative stems from a citizens’ petition and was proposed by the Parliament to highlight the vital role of small retailers in revitalising city centres. These annual awards will honour three cities – one small, one mid-sized, and one large – that …
The European Commission has proposed new measures to cut red tape and facilitate the €800 billion of investment that EU countries need to ensure their defence industries can deliver at speed and scale. The measures build on the vision set out in the White Paper for European Defence-Readiness 2030 that identified simplifying and harmonising rules as an …
The EU will gradually and effectively stop the import of Russian gas and oil by the end of 2027, under a legislative proposal put forward by the European Commission. This will end the EU’s exposure to market and economic security risks due to dependency on Russian fossil fuels, and ultimately boost the Union’s energy independence and …
The Council has adopted a regulation setting up the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument. SAFE is a new EU financial instrument that will support those member states that wish to invest in defence industrial production through common procurement, focusing on priority capabilities. SAFE will finance urgent and large-scale investments in the European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB). The aim is to boost production …
On 16-18 May, the third and final session of the European Citizens’ Panel on the new EU long-term budget took place in Brussels. For the first time, a group of 150 randomly selected citizens from all 27 EU Member States have brought forward bringing their ideas for a sustainable and flexible long-term EU budget. This diverse panel …