European Council: Still no agreement on the budget; compromise sought on ETS
Divisions over the 2028–2034 multiannual budget persist; Costa aims for agreement by year-end while ETS2 impact assessment is ordered
Brussels bubble
Civil society groups urge EU leaders to protect AgoraEU funding as budget talks harden
The signatories argue that the costs of underfunding culture, media and civil society would far outweigh the modest budgetary savings on offer
EU prepares strategy to help depopulated regions keep their working force
Between 2014 and 2025, 28 regions lost more than 50 000 inhabitants in absolute terms, concentrated mainly in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary
EU’s rule of law push stalls as 96% of recommendations go unfulfilled, report says
Watchdog warns that repeated recommendations, weak follow-up and gaps in enforcement are undermining Brussels’ ability to prevent democratic backsliding
EU adopts largest-ever batch of Russia sanctions listings amid transatlantic tensions
Kallas offered a measured response to the “energy ceasefire” announced by U.S. President Donald Trump the previous day
Kyiv frowns as EU eyes strict limits on Ukrainian farm access after accession
Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi described the emerging model as “not a transitional mechanism, but effectively a different model of membership”
Central and Eastern European fuel industry joins forces to revise EU green rules
Groups from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia are joining forces to seek a two-year delay to EU climate rules
Parliament tells Šefčovič: no business as usual in Beijing
MEPs back a tougher China line on trade, security and rights before the commissioner’s visit, citing a near-€1 billion daily deficit and reports of Chinese military training for Russian troops
Membership with strings attached: how Brussels is rewriting the EU path for Ukraine
Brussels drops the idea of membership before reforms and offers Ukraine gradual access plus farm sector limits
Enlargement review: a safeguard with an expiry date
Two EPC commentaries accept stronger post-accession tools, then ask what protects the Union when the special regime ends
Moscow takes the College of Commissioners more seriously than Brussels does
L’Express reveals Russian scenarios that include killing a commissioner; perhaps it is time the institutions noticed too
European payments groups join forces to challenge U.S. dominance
Alliance of Bizum, Bancomat, Wero and others aims to connect Europe’s existing instant-payment systems
