At a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Albania’s accession progress and called for further reforms. She outlined plans for accession roadmaps and EU preparations for enlargement, highlighting €213 million paid under the Growth Plan.
Nearly one in three 15-year-olds in the EU struggles to understand a basic text, according to OECD PISA 2025. The European Commission’s new Literacy Coalition will bring schools, libraries, educators and public authorities together to tackle the problem.
The €25 million initiative, including €10 million from the EU, aims to create 500,000 additional jobs for women across the Middle East and North Africa. Part of the Pact for the Mediterranean, it will focus on skills, entrepreneurship and sectors with strong employment potential. How will the partners turn those goals into jobs?
France, Caisse des Dépôts, social housing providers and two European development banks have launched a hub to help housing projects access funding and technical support. Backed by the EU Commission, it will prioritise social housing and accommodation while identifying barriers to construction and renovation.
The new funding will cover three main areas and will support Lebanon in advancing key reforms; strengthening its economic recovery, enhancing security and border management; and maintaining essential services for the most vulnerable. It will also support Lebanon in addressing the consequences of instability, conflict and displacement in the region.
Two EU Commission reports find that generative AI can improve learning when students use it critically, but may weaken outcomes through mechanical use and cognitive overreliance. While nearly two-thirds of European education systems have adopted AI policies or guidance, gaps persist in digital access, assessment, technical support and teacher training.
Speaking at the Ireland Pensions Authority’s annual conference, EIOPA Chair Petra Hielkema calls for better data, stronger trustee oversight and closer scrutiny of pension costs. With Ireland consolidating schemes and leading EU pension reform talks, she urges safeguards for savers and highlights EIOPA’s forthcoming toolkit to help policymakers design inclusive defined contribution pension systems.
he EU Commission proposes digital social security documents, faster recognition of EU and non-EU qualifications and a stronger European Labour Authority. Its fair labour mobility package aims to reduce paperwork, protect mobile workers and improve enforcement against fraud and exploitation. The five legislative proposals require adoption by the European Parliament and Council.
At the EU-China round-table in Hangzhou, the European Economic and Social Committee called for greater trade reciprocity and market access, stronger poverty reduction efforts, people-centred AI and respect for human and workers’ rights.
The EU Commission wants to simplify the European Capitals of Culture programme, encourage joint and cross-border bids, and place greater emphasis on lasting benefits, youth participation and sustainable urban development. Creative Europe countries outside the EU could compete for the title from 2034.
The EU Commission has proposed an Affordable Housing Act giving national, regional and local authorities a common legal framework to act in areas under housing stress. Measures could target short-term rentals, second homes and prolonged vacancies, but must be evidence-based, necessary, proportionate and time-limited.
According to the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), student performance in reading and mathematics has fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded across the OECD, with one in five 15-year-olds now a low performer in all three core subjects. PISA 2025 also links excessive digital and AI use to weaker outcomes, while highlighting the benefits of guided use.
On 2 September 2026, Europol and the European Labour Authority (ELA) have signed a Working Arrangement to strengthen their cooperation in tackling labour exploitation, trafficking in human beings, fraud and related forms of serious and organised crime.
The EU Commission’s latest education investment report puts teachers at the centre of Europe’s education challenge. While more than three quarters would choose teaching again, pay, recognition and working conditions strongly influence retention. Workplace stress, however, significantly increases the risk of leaving the profession.
EU Commissioners Costas Kadis and Glenn Micallef will hear from young Arctic representatives on how the EU can make participation in regional policymaking more inclusive. The dialogue will also gather input for the forthcoming Blue Generational Renewal Strategy as the EU updates its Arctic policy amid geopolitical, economic and environmental change.
The EU Commission has endorsed Malta’s €60.6 million Social Climate Plan, including €45.4 million in EU funding, to improve energy efficiency in vulnerable households, expand sustainable transport for more than 30,000 users and support micro-enterprises in switching to electric mobility.
The EU Commission has launched a consultation on revised regional State aid guidelines, updating eligibility criteria for disadvantaged areas and addressing the specific challenges facing eastern regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
The EU Commission has published guidance showing how Member States can use State aid rules to support social housing, healthcare, disadvantaged workers, training, household energy efficiency and access to finance for SMEs and start-ups. The non-binding “living tool” is intended to help national authorities design measures that advance the social objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal.
The EU Commission has approved advance payments totaling €103.6 million to Malta, Portugal and Spain under the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF). The Commission wants to ease the financial burden of reconstruction efforts after the damage caused by the devastating storms that took place in these countries in January and February 2026.
The EU Commission found that Sweden had fulfilled 16 milestones and targets covering climate investment, education, elderly care and housing, clearing the way for its second payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The EU Commission has cleared a citizens’ initiative seeking voluntary, privacy-preserving digital identity and age-verification systems, while refusing to register the ‘Save Europe Act’ because its proposed migration moratorium would discriminate by race and ethnic origin.
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