European Union

Germany's proposal for joint patrols has been flatly rejected by Poland, whose defence minister insists national borders will be guarded solely by Polish forces.

A weekend of overlapping party congresses is set to shake Spanish politics, as PM Sánchez faces mounting pressure over corruption scandals and the opposition seizes the moment to push for early elections.

Italy wants the EU to curb airline pricing tricks it says are hurting island residents and misleading consumers across the bloc.

The EU and Moldova hold their first-ever summit on Friday – but even pro-enlargement countries are hesitant to let Chișinău leapfrog Ukraine's stalled bid for membership.

Sweden's 21 regions currently decide medicines purchasing independently, which could be problematic in acute situations, such as a pandemic, or war.

Denmark will have the chair in endless Council meetings and trilogues, but the presidency is a baton, not a magic wand.

Written by Colin Murphy.

The growth in accessibility of online spaces and digital channels has been remarkable in recent years, providing citizens with many benefits, including enhanced communication, greater learning opportunities and easier access to private and public services. However, this growth has seen a commensurate increase in the associated risks and harms. Cyberbullying, cyber-violence and sexual extortion are just some of the dangers to which people, particularly vulnerable people, are exposed in the digital environment. In our ‘always-on’ world, issues such as cyberbullying can be a relentless experience and can leave victims with a constant sense of being under attack.   

Like the digital space itself, these dangers know no borders, which can make the problem a global issue. The solutions therefore are not ‘one size fits all’, but a combination of regional, national and transnational actions. The examples outlined here at regional level, while varying in size and scope, all have a common thread, which is the recognition of the risks to people and the desire to make a positive change.

The approaches taken often involve a coordinated or cooperative style, with the involvement of students, teachers and parents. The message is consistent on the importance of recognising the dangers of the internet. It is important for victims to be able to quickly identify cyberbullying, cyber-violence and sexual extortion, and know how to deal with it and whom to turn to, in order to prevent risks from turning into harm.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Tackling cyberbullying at regional/local level‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Spokespersons for Parliament and for the political groups will hold a briefing on the 7 - 10 July plenary session, on Friday at 11.00 in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Spokespersons for Parliament and for the political groups will hold a briefing on the 7 - 10 July plenary session, on Friday at 11.00 in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

If the US leaves a permanent hole in Western support for Ukraine, the EU "will have to fill" it, the Danish premier said.

The European Commission’s proposed 2040 climate target offers industry some welcome additional flexibility by allowing limited use of international carbon credits, creating a valuable link with the growing UN-administered carbon market, says IETA.

Written by Clare Ferguson with Olga Dunderberg.

The European Parliament resumes business on Monday, for the last session ahead of the summer recess. The session is likely to be dominated by the motion of censure of the Commission, tabled by the required tenth of Members. A debate on the motion is to be held on Monday evening, followed by the vote on Thursday.

Ahead of that debate, President Roberta Metsola is due to open the session with a commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. On Tuesday morning, Members will share their expectations for the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU with Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen. The presidency will have to tackle a variety of priorities, including defence, Ukraine, enlargement, climate, and the EU’s economy, trade and long-term budget. Parliament will discuss its priorities for the EU’s post-2027 long-term budget later on Wednesday with the Council and Commission. Also on Wednesday, Members will discuss the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 26 June 2025, while the previous day they will discuss preparations for the 2025 EU-China Summit, due in late July.

To become the 21st euro-area Member State, Bulgaria has demonstrated solid foundations for medium-term convergence and met the requirements for accession to the euro area, despite still tackling corruption, money laundering and governance issues. A report from Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) endorses the country’s adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026. As Parliament is consulted on the file, Members are due to vote their opinion on Bulgaria’s euro-area membership on Tuesday.

With draft amending budget No 1/2025, the €1.35 billion surplus from implementation of the 2024 budget would be entered as revenue in the 2025 budget. This would reduce Member States’ contributions to the 2025 budget accordingly. While noting that the surplus is low, a report from the Committee on Budgets underlines that financing needs remain high, and regrets the absence of progress in the Council on the reform of the own resources system. Members are likely to endorse the Council’s position on DAB 1/2025 on Wednesday.

In the midst of a heatwave, winter heating may seem far from Members’ minds, however preparation for next year’s cold season is already under way. The EU Gas Storage Regulation has helped counter strong demand and supply disruption, reducing the need for additional gas imports and stabilising energy prices. As the regulation expires at the end of 2025, it is proposed to extend the measures until the end of 2027. Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) negotiators have reached a provisional agreement with Council to make the filling targets more flexible and to oblige Member States to track the amount of gas originating in Russia. Members are due to vote on the agreed text on an amended Gas Storage Regulation on Tuesday.

The EU has had a fisheries agreement with Greenland since 1985, allowing EU vessels to fish in Greenlandic waters in the north-east Atlantic and also enabling quota swaps with Norway. To renew the protocol implementing the agreement, Members are set to vote on Tuesday on a new protocol running to 2030. The Committee on Fisheries (PECH) recommends that Parliament give consent to the conclusion of the new protocol to the fisheries agreement with Greenland, and has tabled an accompanying motion for resolution, underlining the importance of the agreement in today’s geopolitical context, while also expressing concern over the lack of data on the state of certain fish stocks.

For greater sustainability in fisheries shared with non-EU countries, and to protect EU fishers from unfair competition, Parliament’s negotiators reached agreement with the Council on tackling the issue of non-EU countries that do not cooperate on sustainable management of shared fish stocks. The agreed text refers specifically to regional management organisations, in line with Parliament’s demands to clarify the scope of the legislation. On Wednesday, Members are due to vote on the text amending existing legislation setting the rules for penalising third countries.

Members are set to consider progress on four candidate countries’ paths towards EU accession, with debates set for Tuesday afternoon on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) reports considering the European Commission’s 2023 and 2024 reports on Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Georgia. AFET’s report on Albania endorses the country’s progress and ambition to complete accession talks by 2027, yet underlines an urgent need for intensified reforms to ensure judicial independence, fundamental rights, and media pluralism and to tackle corruption and organised crime. In the face of political polarisation and malign foreign influence, AFET calls on Albania to enhance political dialogue and institutional resilience. AFET’s 2025 report on Bosnia and Herzegovina also reaffirms strong support for the country’s accession aspirations. However, while acknowledging the reforms undertaken, AFET also underlines stalled progress and weak implementation, and condemns divisive rhetoric and secessionist policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report urges political leaders to carry out all steps in the Commission’s 2022 recommendation so the Council can adopt the negotiating network and set the stage for formal accession negotiations. On North Macedonia’s accession negotiations, AFET’s report notes the country is a fully aligned and trustworthy partner. AFET welcomes the €750 million in grants and loans which will become available to North Macedonia under the new Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans. However, AFET’s report underlines that North Macedonia‘s political parties must engage in constructive dialogue to strengthen the country’s multi-ethnic character and accelerate progress towards EU membership. The report also highlights concerns about amendments that have weakened the legal framework for combating corruption. Turning to Georgia’s accession prospects, stalled for some years, the AFET report calls for new parliamentary elections, solidarity with the Georgian people and coordinated sanctions against key regime enablers.

Many of us purchase products online, and increasingly people are sourcing goods from outside the EU. However, such goods do not always conform to EU standards, and customs and other public authorities find it challenging to check large numbers of low-value imports. To protect EU consumers and businesses from unfair competition, Members are set to debate a report from the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on Monday evening, which analyses the issue and sets out a series of measures to tackle regulatory compliance in e-commerce and non-EU imports. The report emphasises the need for strong enforcement of existing legislation and reforms under the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation. It also urges the Commission to assess the impact of proposed controls for bulk shipments, to further evaluate the proposed handling fee and investigate product safety compliance with World Trade Organization rules.  

Finally, on Thursday morning, Members are expected to debate a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) stating that EU cohesion policy should focus on regions with national, ethnic, cultural, religious or linguistic aspects that differ from their surrounding regions. Several of Parliament’s committees held a joint public hearing on the ‘Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures’ ECI in June 2025, which emphasised the need to preserve cultural and linguistic elements of EU ethnic minority regions, and to address specific challenges. The Commission must examine the claims and provide a response by September.

• European Parliament Plenary Session agenda
• The European Parliament’s powers: Motion of censure
• Priority dossiers under the Danish EU Council Presidency
• Bulgaria to adopt the euro on 1 January 2026
• Draft amending budget No 1/2025: 2024 surplus
• Amendment of the Gas Storage Regulation
• EU fisheries agreement with Greenland: Conclusion of a new protocol (2025-2030)
• Measures against countries that do not cooperate on shared fish stocks
• 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on Albania
• 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on North Macedonia
• 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on Georgia
• Product safety and regulatory compliance in e commerce and non-EU imports
• Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of regional cultures (ECI)

The interior ministry said it was the first deportation of a Syrian directly to Syria in about 15 years, and Austria was the "first European country to officially deport a Syrian criminal directly to Syria in recent years".

Newsletter - 7-10 July 2025 - Strasbourg plenary session

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

European Parliament auditors flag questionable spending from French Rassemblement National.

Current draft criteria jeopardise the production of a potential source of clean fuel, they argue.

As of 3 July and after a long legal back-and-forth, Lime's bright green micromobility units can no longer be activated in the Belgian capital.

The deal will scrap or reduce duties on nearly all trade flows, including key agricultural products like Brazilian poultry, Argentinian beef, and Norwegian salmon.

Alzheimer’s disease is often diagnosed too late. A multi-national survey reveals barriers and points the way forward. Early diagnosis must become the standard to ensure patient’s meaningful interventions with the greatest impact. The time to act is now.

But Denmark has only limited tools at its disposal during its presidency to work around Hungary's veto on EU enlargement.