European Union

The Council imposed restrictive measures on six persons responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran.

The Council appointed Ms. Birgitte Nygaard Markussen as the new EU Special Representative for the Sahel region.

The Council adopted a 21st package of economic and individual restrictive measures designed to target the sectors with the greatest impact on Russia’s economy and its ability to fuel its war of aggression against Ukraine. The package  includes the largest batch of individual listings of the last four years.

The measure allows online providers to voluntarily detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material online.

This paper analyses how Russia’s hybrid interference targets European Union (EU) enlargement countries and how the EU responds, particularly with regard to its enlargement policy. It develops a precise, strategy‑centred concept of ‘hybrid interference’ that distinguishes coordinated, multi‑instrument campaigns against domestic democratic orders from broader notions of hybrid warfare, influence or leverage. On this basis, it maps recurring vulnerabilities across nine enlargement countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine – and identifies six main instruments in Russia’s toolkit: covert political financing; information operations; legal‑constitutional obstruction via proxy elites; energy and economic leverage; cyber operations; and security‑sector penetration with support for proxy violence. The empirical core combines a cross‑country overview with a focused comparison of Moldova, Georgia and Serbia to show how these instruments are re-combined under different domestic alignments and conflict settings. The paper then examines the EU’s evolving counter‑strategy, from the 2016 Joint Framework, the Global Strategy and Strategic Compass to on‑the‑ground measures in enlargement countries, highlighting both progress in mainstreaming hybrid resilience into accession conditionality and persistent implementation gaps. It argues that EU tools are most effective where reform‑oriented elites align with EU objectives, as in Moldova and least effective where domestic governments internalise Russia’s authoritarian playbook, as in Georgia, or pursue ambiguous dual‑track policies, as in Serbia. The concluding recommendations set out how the European Parliament can use its legislative, budgetary and scrutiny powers to embed democratic resilience and counter‑hybrid measures at the heart of the enlargement process.
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Face au mécontentement croissant des enseignants du territoire de Malemba Nkulu concernant le retard récurrent de leurs salaires, la Direction nationale de contrôle, de la préparation de la paie et de la maîtrise des effectifs des enseignants (DINACOPE) a expliqué, mardi 28 juillet, que l’enveloppe mise à la disposition de Caritas est insuffisante. 

DRAFT REPORT on the implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2026
Committee on Security and Defence
Nathalie Loiseau

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

While some progress has been made in the fight against the devastating wildfires in France and Spain, there are concerns that the situation may deteriorate again as yet another heatwave looms. President Emmanuel Macron has said this is France's worst fire emergency since the Second World War. Commentators are also alarmed and discuss what action should be taken.

AI research company OpenAI reported that during an internal test of its new AI models last week the software independently hacked its way into the systems of another AI company. The AI models apparently managed to break out of their isolated test environment and gain access to the internet. Commentators voice concern and call for appropriate measures.

The Austrian government wants to extend compulsory military service from six to nine months. Its 6+3 scheme is intended to boost the Austrian army's operational readiness and better prepare soldiers for crisis and defence tasks. To make military service more attractive, holiday entitlement will be introduced and pay will be hiked up to 1,000 euros a month. The press is very sceptical.