European Union

Council adopts measures to incentivise and simplify defence investments in the EU.

The Council imposed restrictive measures on an additional 41 vessels that are part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers and contribute to Russia’s energy revenues.

Before the start of the European Council meeting of 18-19 December 2025, European Council President António Costa addressed the press in Brussels.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said tumult around the borders of Europe as well as the impacts of trade tensions meant it was impossible to issue guidance for the future

Written by Steven Blaakman.

Drawing attention to migrants’ human rights and highlighting their contribution to society, International Migrants’ Day is observed every year on 18 December. The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly on 4 December 2000 in response to growing migration numbers around the world.

Context

Migration has been a constant throughout history, with people moving in search of new opportunities or protection. On 1 January 2024, 29.0 million people (6.4 %) of the 449.3 million people living in the EU were non-EU citizens. In 2023, 4.4 million migrants from non-EU ountries arrived in the EU. In 2024, most first-residence permits were given for reasons of employment (32 %), family (27 %) and
education (16 %). Some also arrive looking for international protection: in 2024, 911 960 first-time asylum applicants arrived in the EU.

Migration management in the EU

The EU and EU countries share competence in migration policy. In recent years, the priority accorded to migration management has been eflected in the EU budget, with €22.7 billion allocated to migration and border policy from 2021 to 2027. Acknowledging that the EU needed to move away from ad hoc solutions and put in place a predictable and reliable migration management system, the European Commission put forward a new pact on migration and asylum in 2020. The pact combines key EU policies on migration, asylum and border management and was adopted in spring 2024. In addition, the Commission has initiated reforms to the EU’s legal migration policy by proposing a skills and talent package, intended to attract and retain highly skilled third-country nationals, and by creating the EU Talent Pool, which will match employers in the EU with jobseekers from non-EU countries. The objective is to help address critical labour shortages across Europe and to offer a response to the demographic situation in the EU of an ageing population. Research confirms that legal migration channels are a viable way to mitigate the problem of a declining EU workforce.

Honouring the contributions of migrants and respecting their rights

International Migrants Day is about honouring the contributions of migrants and highlighting the increasingly complex environment in which migration occurs. The European Commission asserts that legal migration and resettlement benefit migrants as well as EU countries.

The EU action plan on integration and inclusion addresses barriers to migrants’ education, access to the labour market and housing. Progress on practical action to support integration in areas such as health, housing and employment can be checked in the Commission’s progress tracker

European Parliament position

The European Parliament has for years advocated a humane, solidarity-based and common approach to migration. In its resolution of 25 November 2021, taking into consideration that total labour supply in the euro area was projected to fall by 13 % (20 million people) between 2019 and 2070, Parliament encouraged the development of adequate legal economic migration channels.

Parliament’s adoption of the new pact on migration and asylum, to be applied from mid-2026, confirmed its willingness to take ‘an important step, to a common European asylum and migration policy that is well functioning and long-term’.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘International Migrants’ Day: 18 December 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Farm lobby heavyweights Copa and Cogeca met with Ursula von der Leyen, but talks produced no breakthrough

Europe urged to commit €1bn to animal-free biomedical research as Brussels faces pressure to match US investment in non-animal methods

Nyitra Megye Önkormányzata befejezte az Ipolysághoz tartozó Tesmagon (Tešmák) az Olvár-patak hídjának felújítását. A költségek meghaladták a 230 ezer eurót.

The CJEU finds Poland’s constitutional rulings from 2021 breached primacy and uniform application of EU law

As the EU’s packaging overhaul takes effect, new data from Italy offers insight into what's working, and what needs fixing

Rare neurological diseases offer unusually clear models for testing earlier diagnosis, precision treatment and long-term monitoring of brain health, but a new research approach is needed

Cleaner 'polar fuel' needed as growing marine traffic threatens remaining ice cover

A Joint Declaration on EU legislative priorities for 2026 was signed today by the Presidents of Parliament, Council and Commission.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

A Joint Declaration on EU legislative priorities for 2026 was signed today by the Presidents of Parliament, Council and Commission.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Italian far-right MEP Stefano Cavedagna told a closed-door meeting of MEPs that he wants the proposed space law to be a directive instead, Euractiv has learned

Berlin moves to replace ageing military vehicle fleet

Europe's push to rearm has re-ignited an evergreen debate on purchasing European vs American weapons

Despite opening a new R&D centre, Adamed Pharma says the Polish innovation ecosystem remains challenging - regulatory and financial reforms are needed

Plus military loans, Eastern Flank Watch, Capability Coalitions, FCAS