Pope Francis is dead. He died on Monday at 7:35 a.m., Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced in a statement released by the Vatican press office. The Pope was 88 years old. He died while recovering from a severe case of pneumonia, one day after he appeared for the Urbi et Orbi blessing to greet the faithful.
The Governing Council today decided to lower the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points. Accordingly, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.25%, 2.40% and 2.65% respectively, with effect from 23 April 2025.
The EU Commission has unveiled its annual report on Safety Gate, the European Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products. The report presents an overview of dangerous products notified in the Safety Gate in 2024. 4137 alerts were notified last year – the highest ever recorded amount of alerts since the launch of the system in 2003.
The latest European State of the Climate report illustrates clearly the impact of climate change in Europe and the Arctic. In 2024, Europe was the fastest-warming continent, with a clear climate divide – eastern parts suffered from extreme heat and drought, while western parts were extremely hot and humid.
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held their first official meeting on Thursday in Washington, D.C.. They confirmed their resolve to promote a mutually beneficial relationship and further strengthen the U.S.-Italian strategic alliance across security, economic, and technological issues. Their statement underscores that the war in Ukraine must end, and fully endorsed President Trump’s leadership in brokering a ceasefire and delivering a just and lasting peace.
The European AI Strategy aims to position Europe as a leading hub for human-centric and reliable AI. The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) is actively contributing to this AI revolution by funding AI-related projects. HaDEA manages more than 900 projects that either develop or apply AI tools. Explore some of the projects on this list.
The European Union has paused its countermeasures on unjustified U.S. trade tariffs to allow time and space for EU-U.S. negotiations. The decision was made in response to the U.S. delaying by 90 days its so-called reciprocal tariffs. In total, the suspended EU countermeasures cover €21 billion of U.S. exports.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of P Capital Partners AB (‘PCP’) of Sweden, by M&G FA Limited (‘M&G’) of the UK. The transaction relates primarily to the provision of private credit through alternative investment funds.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of YOOX Net-A-Porter Group S.p.A. (‘YNAP’) of Italy, by MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. (‘Mytheresa’) of Germany. The transaction relates primarily to the market for online retail supply of personal luxury goods.
People affected by humanitarian crises in the Greater Horn of Africa and in West and Central Africa will receive €258 million in EU humanitarian aid from the Commission to address their urgent needs.
At the occasion of the first ever High-Level Political Dialogue between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority, the EU Commission is proposing a multiannual Comprehensive Support Programme worth up to €1.6 billion, to foster Palestinian recovery and resilience.
The EU Council has concluded the review of the EU framework for arms export control, by adopting a decision amending the Council’s Common Position defining common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment, and approving conclusions on the matter.
The EU Council gave its final green light today on one of the Commission’s proposals to simplify EU rules and thus boost EU competitiveness: The so-called ‘Stop-the-clock’ directive postpones the application dates of certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, as well as the transposition deadline of the due diligence provisions.
The EU Council today adopted the decision on the signature of the Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) with Singapore. It also preliminarily backed the decision on the conclusion of the agreement, pending the European Parliament’s consent.
The EU Council adopted today a directive that will extend cooperation and information exchange in the area of minimum effective corporate taxation. The objective of this directive is to put into operation specific provisions to advance the global agreement on international tax reform.
In a new report released today (14 April 2025), UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is amping up calls that the poorest and most vulnerable economies be exempt from reciprocal tariffs.
While reaffirming the “national emergency” declared in a prior executive order aimed at addressing the threat posed by persistent U.S. goods trade deficits through reciprocal tariffs, President Trump on Friday revised his stance on certain high-tech imports — including some originating from China — by excluding them from the newly imposed duties.
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held their first official meeting on Thursday in Washington, D.C.. They confirmed their resolve to promote a mutually beneficial relationship and further strengthen the U.S.-Italian strategic alliance across security, economic, and technological issues. Their statement underscores that the war in Ukraine must end, and fully endorsed President Trump’s leadership in brokering a ceasefire and delivering a just and lasting peace.
The race for leadership in AI is far from over. From cutting-edge foundation models to specialised AI applications, the AI landscape in the EU is dynamic. It is driven by research, emerging technologies, and a thriving ecosystem of startups and scaleups. The AI Continent Action Plan will boost the European Union’s AI innovation capabilities around five key pillars. Explore the details.
Participants voiced strong concerns about the broader implications of the US tariffs, particularly the risk of trade diversion. They highlighted the uncertainty these measures create for integrated supply chains – especially in the automotive sector – which span both sides of the Atlantic and are central to current business models.
Digital health initiatives, including those managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), are central to advancing innovation in healthcare through digital technologies and AI. By supporting intelligent, AI-driven solutions, the EU is contributing to the development of a more accessible, efficient, and equitable healthcare system for everyone.
Europol’s tech experts team up with practitioners and academia to spearhead research against the potential exploitation of biometric identification systems. Explore their latest report.
“Clean tech is a European success story. But we also know the challenges your businesses are facing: High energy costs, a lack of access to finance, unfair global competition, difficult sourcing of critical raw materials. If Europe is to continue to lead, then we must act now. And that is what this EU Commission is doing. In the last three months, we have delivered ten packages to make Europe more competitive” – EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU Commission has launched a consultation on the Action Plan for the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers. This Action Plan is crucial to protect the healthcare sector from cyber threats and contributes to the successful implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
The U.S. White House is shifting to a forward-leaning, pro-innovation and pro competition mindset rather than pursuing the risk-averse approach of the previous administration: “The Federal Government will no longer impose unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions on the use of innovative American AI in the Executive Branch. By embracing AI adoption, agencies will be more agile, cost-effective, and efficient. This shift will deliver improvements to the lives of the American public while enhancing America’s global dominance in AI innovation.”
Henna Vikkunen gave Internal Market MEPs an overview of the Commission’s achievements and forthcoming plans to boost EU competitiveness, security, and technological sovereignty.
The National Security Agency (NSA) and partners are releasing the joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), “Fast Flux: A National Security Threat,” to warn about how cyber actors are using a technique called fast flux to conceal their activities by rapidly changing the IP address associated with a domain name.
The study published by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) aims to examine the secondary use of personal data in scientific research—especially in the medical field—by reviewing international agreements, EU and Member State laws, and practices related to purpose limitation, lawfulness, and data subject rights under GDPR transparency exemptions.
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held their first official meeting on Thursday in Washington, D.C.. They confirmed their resolve to promote a mutually beneficial relationship and further strengthen the U.S.-Italian strategic alliance across security, economic, and technological issues. Their statement underscores that the war in Ukraine must end, and fully endorsed President Trump’s leadership in brokering a ceasefire and delivering a just and lasting peace.
The EU Council has concluded the review of the EU framework for arms export control, by adopting a decision amending the Council’s Common Position defining common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment, and approving conclusions on the matter.
Today, the EU Council adopted a decision which formally concludes an agreement between the EU and Canada on the transfer and use of passenger name record (PNR) data. The agreement sets out the conditions for the transfer of PNR data from the EU to Canada for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of terrorist offences or serious transnational crimes.
In a new report released today (14 April 2025), UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is amping up calls that the poorest and most vulnerable economies be exempt from reciprocal tariffs.
While reaffirming the “national emergency” declared in a prior executive order aimed at addressing the threat posed by persistent U.S. goods trade deficits through reciprocal tariffs, President Trump on Friday revised his stance on certain high-tech imports — including some originating from China — by excluding them from the newly imposed duties.
The two-day informal meeting of the EU Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs reached its conclusion on Saturday. The second day of the meeting was devoted to the topic of financing Europe’s defence and security.
Vladimir Putin held a meeting on “Strategy for the development of the Navy for the period until 2050.” The meeting was attended by Presidential Aides Alexei Dyumin and Nikolai Patrushev, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Alexander Moiseyev, President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank PJSC Andrey Kostin, and General Director of United Shipbuilding Corporation JSC Andrey Puchkov.
China will raise the additional tariffs on products imported from the United States to 125 percent, effective from Saturday (April 12), the Chinese Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced Friday.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on Friday. China is willing to further strengthen the synergy of development strategies with Spain, fully leverage the complementary advantages of industries, continuously tap into the potential of trade and investment cooperation, and achieve a higher level of win-win results, Li said.
The EU Commission has decided to transfer – in the interest of the service – Herald Ruijters to the new Task Force for Security Action for Europe (SAFE) in the new Directorate-General for Defence, Industry and Space (DG DEFIS).
The report identifies six key trends that will be important for NATO in the next 20 years: evolving competition areas; the race for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum superiority; biotechnology revolution; resource divide; fragmenting public trust; and technology integration and dependencies.
Partners discussed practical ways to step up NATO-EU cooperation, focusing on military mobility. The Deputy Secretary General highlighted the important role that the EU can play in making sure that NATO Allies can deploy and sustain their forces rapidly to and across Europe.
In an effort to strengthen the EU’s resilience against rising cyber threats, the Commission seeks input to evaluate and revise the 2019 Cybersecurity Act. This initiative reflects the Commission’s ongoing commitment to simplifying rules.
The Summit will examine the geopolitical, technological and economic factors affecting energy security at the national and international level. It will provide leaders and decision makers from around the world with an opportunity to review the trends shaping global energy security – and reflect on the tools needed to address traditional and emerging energy security risks.
The EU Council agreed to extend gas storage rules by two years while providing additional flexibilities for member states to adapt to constantly evolving market conditions and to address possible market manipulations. Menwhile, the EU Commission and ENTSOG, the EU gas market regulator, urged member states to start refilling gas storages as soon as possible.
Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the energy sector in the coming decade, driving a surge in electricity demand from data centres around the world while also unlocking significant opportunities to cut costs, enhance competitiveness and reduce emissions, according to a major new report from the IEA.
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €35 million French scheme to support farmers in the Artois-Picardie basin in the Hauts-de-France region as they transition to crops and practices that sustainably protect water resources.
The Hub’s work will allow Member States to directly assign candidates in line with IPCEI rules, which will accelerate the entire process. The launch of the Hub follows the Clean Industrial Deal Communication, published on 26 February 2025.
The European Union and Ukraine have extended their Road Transport Agreement until 31 December 2025. The agreement facilitates Ukraine’s access to global markets by enabling smoother transit through EU countries and strengthening trade links with the EU market.
The agreement reached today on the toy safety regulation reinforces the already stringent safety rules, aligns the obligations of economic operators (both from the EU and third countries) to existing EU legislation, clarifies the rules for the EU digital product passport, and bans or restricts the chemicals products that can be dangerous for children if present in toys.
The EU Commission welcomes the provisional political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council on the proposal for a Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive. According to the EU Commission, the Soil Monitoring Law will put the EU on a pathway to healthy soils for the benefit of citizens, farmers, land managers and the environment.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is releasing the results of a survey that provides an overview of HIV testing strategies for blood, tissues, and cells donors within the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA).
The political parties forming Germany’s new government coalition — the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Friedrich Merz, the Christian Social Union (CSU) under Markus Söder, and the Social Democrats (SPD) represented by Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken — have finalized their coalition treaty and outlined the structure of the new government. Insight EU offers an unofficial English translation of the agreement to inform the international community about the latest developments in shaping a stable, forward-looking, and pro-European government in Germany.
On April 8, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed a sweeping series of executive actions that mark a decisive pivot toward fossil fuel expansion and a direct dismantling of climate-related regulations. Promoted under the banner of “energy dominance,” the orders prioritize coal, gas, and oil production—recasting coal as a “critical mineral,” suspending environmental protections for power plants, blocking state-level climate policies, and redirecting federal agencies to dismantle clean energy preferences. The administration frames this agenda as vital to economic growth and national security, but critics warn it constitutes a profound rollback of federal climate commitments and could significantly undermine global emissions targets.
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