The EU Commission has launched the RAISE (Resource for AI Science in Europe) pledging initiative to provide researchers with AI models, computing capacity, data and expertise. Nvidia, Google DeepMind and Mistral are among the first contributors. Mistral and CERN also plan to develop the largest foundation model in physics.
An OECD study covering 28 countries and 116,000 respondents estimates how much people are willing to pay to avoid ten chemicals-related health effects. Values range from USD 5,000 for skin sensitisation to USD 1.27 million for very low birth weight, supporting cost-benefit analysis of regulation.
At the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, nearly 5,000 participants debate the future of EU cohesion policy. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto highlights €35 billion in reallocated funding and plans for a ‘Right to Stay’ strategy. European Council President António Costa calls for affordable housing and stronger competitiveness, while the Committee of the Regions warns that centralising the 2028–2034 EU budget could deepen regional inequalities and weaken local decision-making.
The EU Council formally adopted the €115 million Programme for Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation (AGILE), targeting start-ups and SMEs developing disruptive defence technologies. The EU Commission expects to fund 20–30 projects, covering up to 100% of eligible costs, with grants awarded within four months and deployment within one to three years.
The EU Parliament, Council and Commission reaffirm their commitment to completing a major overhaul of the Single Market by 2027. Their second progress review highlights advances in removing market barriers, cutting regulatory burdens and strengthening competitiveness, while calling for continued legislative momentum.
The EU Commission says job quality has improved in pay, security and working time, but major gaps persist across sectors and Member States. Its 2026 employment report links better jobs to productivity and examines how AI, labour shortages and high energy prices are reshaping work ahead of the Quality Jobs Act.
EU ministers have endorsed the participation of seven candidate countries and Kosovo in the European Centre for Democratic Resilience. Cooperation will focus on countering foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), crisis preparedness and protecting journalists, civil society and democratic institutions.
China’s Ministry of Justice has launched LexCom, a public database helping Chinese enterprises and citizens navigate foreign legal systems. Covering 187 countries, it provides translated foreign laws, legal guidance, representative cases and an AI-powered legal assistant to support cross-border business and investment.
At the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, nearly 5,000 participants debate the future of EU cohesion policy. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto highlights €35 billion in reallocated funding and plans for a ‘Right to Stay’ strategy. European Council President António Costa calls for affordable housing and stronger competitiveness, while the Committee of the Regions warns that centralising the 2028–2034 EU budget could deepen regional inequalities and weaken local decision-making.
The EU Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of Belgium Tower Partners N.V. (‘BTP’) and Vodafone Antennelocaties B.V. by DigitalBridge Group, Inc., TD Asset Management, Inc. and Legal & General BeNe HoldCo Limited (‘L&G’). The transaction relates primarily to the telecommunications infrastructure sector.
The EU Commission has approved the acquisition of sole control of ZF Capri HoldCo GmbH of Germany by Harman International Industries, Incorporated of the US, ultimately controlled by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. of South Korea. The transaction relates primarily to advanced driver assistance systems (‘ADAS’) for passenger vehicles.
The EU Commission has launched an in-depth merger investigation into XXXLutz’s proposed acquisition of Porta, citing concerns over reduced competition, higher prices and supplier dependence in Germany, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland. A separate investigation into possible gun jumping is ongoing. A decision is due by 25 February 2027.
At an accession conference in Luxembourg, the EU and Montenegro provisionally closed three negotiating chapters covering economic and monetary policy, statistics, and social policy and employment. With 21 of 33 chapters now provisionally closed, Montenegro moves closer to completing its EU accession negotiations.
Speaking at a BusinessEurope event in Brussels, EU Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera calls for faster, simpler Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs). New initiatives on artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors aim to strengthen Europe’s industrial capabilities.
The EU Council has adopted its largest-ever round of Russia sanctions listings, targeting 1,569 individuals and entities linked to the military-industrial complex, including 826 companies and 743 executives. A separate decision sanctions 77 individuals involved in illegal Russian State Duma elections in occupied Ukrainian territories. The measures target weapons supply chains and efforts to legitimise Russia’s occupation, bringing the total number of listings under the EU’s Ukraine territorial integrity regime to over 4,600.
EU leaders António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen will host UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for the second EU-UK summit in Brussels. Discussions will assess progress on defence, energy, trade-related rules and migration, while setting priorities for deeper cooperation and a joint approach to European security.
The EU Parliament’s lead co-rapporteurs on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, RO) and Carla Tavares (S&D, PT) firmly reject the draft negotiating position emerging from the EU Council Presidency. Together with Parliament’s co-rapporteurs on own resources, Danuše Nerudová (EPP, CZ) and Sandra Gómez López (S&D, ES), they have issue a joint statement. Delve into the details.
The EU Commission has launched the RAISE (Resource for AI Science in Europe) pledging initiative to provide researchers with AI models, computing capacity, data and expertise. Nvidia, Google DeepMind and Mistral are among the first contributors. Mistral and CERN also plan to develop the largest foundation model in physics.
Xi Jinping’s state visit produced eight “deliverables” – yet most are dialogues, intentions or restated positions. Trade gets a modest $30bn tariff list, AI a new dialogue channel. Taiwan and Ukraine are absent. And the two capitals do not even agree on what the AI talks are called.
Europe’s reliance on US technology providers and card schemes could become a vulnerability during a disruption, Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque warned. She argued that European payment systems and deeper capital markets would strengthen resilience, support the euro and help innovative companies grow. What would it take to build them at European scale?
Henna Virkkunen meets Greenland’s premier and visit the Joint Arctic Command and a satellite ground station as the EU prepares a new Arctic Strategy. The talks will cover security, critical infrastructure and connectivity, alongside a Commission proposal to increase financial support for Greenland.
The Maltese city of Victoria has been recommended as European Capital of Culture 2031 by an independent panel of experts. It will share the title for 2031 with a city in Spain which will be announced in December. Victoria is Malta’s second city to hold the title, after Valletta in 2018.
EU ministers called for stronger semiconductor production and faster progress from research to market, while weighing how revised merger guidelines should account for innovation and resilience. They also discussed economic security and a wide range of industrial proposals.
At a UN Security Council debate, Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer of artificial neural networks and deep learning, warned of autonomous AI agents escaping safeguards, while the chiefs of OpenAI, Anthropic and Hugging Face proposed different responses. France urged global rules; the US rejected a global regulator. Other members called for human control, mandatory incident reporting and AI access for developing countries. The central dispute: Who decides how fast frontier AI advances, and who bears the risks?
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission found GDPR breaches in Google’s handling of location data across three features, citing unlawful processing, inadequate transparency and data retention. Google has six months to bring its practices into compliance. What must the company change?
ENISA finds that attacks on suppliers and other third parties can spread disruption across digital services. Public administration was the most targeted sector in its 2025 analysis, while ransomware remained the most damaging threat in the short term. How is Artificial Intelligence changing the risks?
The EU’s banking, insurance and markets supervisors say the financial system remains resilient, but reliance on non-EU technology providers could magnify disruption. They also flag AI-enabled cyberattacks and fast-growing private credit. Where could stress spread first?
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has outlined a new methodology guiding national data protection authorities through liability, culpability, aggravating and mitigating factors, and proportionality when deciding whether to impose GDPR fines. Minor infringements will generally attract no fine, while non-minor cases carry a strong presumption of one. Final guidelines also clarify the interplay between the DSA and GDPR.
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.
An EEA-Eionet horizon scan finds digitalisation can reduce emissions and resource use through smarter manufacturing, farming, mining and recycling. Yet AI-powered marketing may accelerate consumption and shorten product lifecycles, while data centres’ rising energy and water demand adds new environmental pressures—making adaptive EU governance decisive.
The EU and Irish Council Presidency are convening the first international conference on protecting humanitarian aid workers after 1,187 were killed, injured, kidnapped or detained in 2025. The EU has allocated €3.5 million this year to protection, legal support and post-incident assistance.
Belgium and Czechia have received their first payments under the EU’s €150bn SAFE defence instrument, with €1.2bn and €309m respectively released as 15% pre-financing. The disbursements bring SAFE pre-financing to almost €13.5bn across 11 Member States, supporting joint procurement and faster investment in European defence capabilities.
The EU Parliament has approved the €115m AGILE programme to accelerate disruptive defence technologies from prototype to operational use. With four-month funding decisions, easier testing and a focus on SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups, AGILE targets AI, quantum, cyber and unmanned systems, while linking innovators with major defence companies and drawing on Ukraine’s battlefield experience.
The EU Parliament’s Development Committee wants stronger support for Greenland amid sovereignty concerns and proposes more than doubling planned 2028–2034 funding for overseas countries and territories to €2.084 billion. MEPs also seek greater local involvement in decisions on critical raw materials.
The EU Commission has disbursed a further €157 million to Moldova under its Growth Plan after assessing that 18 reform milestones were met across all seven policy areas. Total performance-based funding under the Facility has now reached about €661 million as Moldova advances its EU accession agenda.
The EU Commission is providing an additional €130 million to strengthen Member States’ drone and counter-drone capabilities at the EU’s external borders. Together with earlier allocations, Home Affairs funding for surveillance and counter-drone technology now exceeds €500 million.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called for action on structural excess capacity, food-related economic coercion, forced labour and the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, arguing at the G20 Trade Ministerial that the global trading system must adapt to 21st-century challenges.
The EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has published a practical guide to help national authorities design and manage reception systems under EU law, covering governance, accommodation, capacity planning, resources, data management and cooperation with external providers.
Germany and Ukraine signed 15 agreements and documents worth more than €8.5bn, spanning air defence, interceptor drones, radars, artillery, UGVs and energy resilience. Chancellor Friedrich Merz also announced a new support package of more than €1.3bn, while both sides expanded joint production, procurement and technology cooperation, including IRIS-T systems, drone localisation in Germany and work on new interceptor missiles.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned in Münster that Russia’s hybrid campaign against Allies is likely to continue, citing cyberattacks, sabotage, arson, airspace violations and drone incidents. He urged Allies to remain vigilant, increase defence investment and sustain support for Ukraine.
EU justice ministers adopted conclusions urging implementation of the EU Anti-Racism Strategy for 2026–2030. They also debated Eurojust’s future mandate, considered further protection for journalists and civil society, and reviewed efforts to ensure accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine.
The EU Commission has paid Ukraine €2.9 billion following reforms under the Ukraine Plan, including the first €800 million channelled through the Ukraine Facility from the Ukraine Support Loan. The payment supports financial stability and public services, bringing total support under the Plan above €32 billion.
Europol has established a taskforce to tackle rising cannabis smuggling from North America and Thailand, driven by oversupply in legal markets and diversion into illicit channels. A related operation in Belgium and France led to 21 arrests over cannabis and cocaine trafficking through Brussels Airport.
The EU Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by Crédit Agricole Transitions & Energies SA of France and Primeo Energie Schweiz AG of Switzerland. The transaction relates primarily to the retail and supply of electricity in France.
The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) is supporting six projects developing reusable rockets, smart engines, re-entry systems and advanced testing technologies. Funded under Horizon Europe, the initiatives aim to strengthen Europe’s independent access to space and improve the competitiveness of its space industry.
Eurogroup ministers reviewed renewed energy-price pressures, rising borrowing costs and tighter fiscal space, calling for targeted support and more efficient public spending. They also pressed for faster capital-market integration and opened the race to succeed Isabel Schnabel at the ECB.
The first Global Heat Forum in Bangkok is seeking to accelerate investment and action against extreme heat as El Niño strengthens. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for heat action plans in every city by 2030, while new tools target early warnings, worker protection, urban cooling and health risks.
Addressing the EU Parliament ahead of the October European Council, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen linked Europe’s renewed energy shock to the debate on the next long-term EU budget. She urged targeted relief, faster electrification and grid investment, while warning that major MFF cuts would undermine defence, competitiveness, AI, energy, enlargement and crisis-response priorities.
The EU Commission has closed two infringement cases against France after a new hydropower law replaced concessions with an authorisation regime and guaranteed competitors access to at least 40% of national capacity, including 6 GW of virtual hydropower offered by EDF.
ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee recommends classifying trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and its inorganic salts as toxic to reproduction and as highly persistent and mobile substances that can cause long-lasting contamination of water resources. The opinion could lead to binding EU classifications under the CLP Regulation and trigger further regulatory action.
The EU Commission appointed Ion Codescu as Director for Biodiversity within its Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV). This department leads the European Commission’s development and delivery of environmental policy that protects, preserves and improves the environment for present and future generations while promoting sustainable development.
The EU Commission has opened applications for its new Energy Transition Investment Council, which will bring together up to 30 investors, banks, public finance institutions and energy-sector representatives. The body will advise on aligning EU policy and funding with investor needs, mobilising private capital and accelerating clean energy investment.
WHO and ECDC are closely monitoring a suspected pneumonic plague death involving a laboratory worker in Russia’s Irkutsk region and stand ready to assist, while no secondary cases have been reported. Weeks earlier, Vladimir Putin had discussed plague risks and monitoring with Rospotrebnadzor chief Anna Popova, including worsening conditions in Mongolia.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will join preparatory meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu ahead of COP31, focusing on Paris Agreement implementation, clean electrification, climate finance, adaptation and the just transition, with particular attention to vulnerable Pacific island states.
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