Members of the European Parliament concluded their May plenary session in Strasbourg this week with a final vote on the regulation strengthening the screening of foreign investments in EU strategic sectors. The four-day session, which ran from 18 to 21 May 2026, was attended by Cyprus European Affairs Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna, representing the Council…
Strasbourg – The European Parliament holds this week, during its 18-21 May 2026 plenary session in Strasbourg, the final vote on the revised EU Foreign Investment Screening Regulation. The new framework aims to better protect strategic EU sectors against acquisitions by non-EU entities — particularly Chinese, Russian, and Gulf-region investors with politically sensitive ties. The…
Brussels – The European Parliament and Council enter this week the decisive phase of trilogue negotiations on two legislative proposals implementing the so-called EU-US Turnberry deal, the framework on tariff and trade exchanges announced in July 2025 at the Turnberry resort in Scotland. The deal, brokered between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and former…
Brussels – The European Commission presents today, Tuesday 19 May 2026, its long-awaited Fertilisers Action Plan, a strategic blueprint designed to address rising EU fertiliser prices, secure supply chains, and strengthen the bloc’s food sovereignty. The plan will be debated this afternoon with MEPs in the Strasbourg plenary, before broader public consultation in the coming…
In short: Sunday’s regional elections in Andalusia produced the worst Socialist performance on record in a region the PSOE governed almost continuously from 1982 to 2018. The Partido Popular of incumbent president Juanma Moreno Bonilla emerged as the largest force but appears to fall short of an outright majority, leaving Vox in the position of…
The European Central Bank held its three key interest rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting on 30 April 2026, leaving the deposit facility rate at 2.00%, the main refinancing rate at 2.15%, and the marginal lending facility at 2.40%. But the holding pattern is unlikely to last: a Bloomberg survey conducted between 4 and…
The first disbursement of the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan is now firmly scheduled for June 2026, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas confirmed at the close of the Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) in Brussels on Tuesday 12 May. Defence ministers also gave their political backing to mobilising additional European Peace Facility (EPF) funds, with concrete…
The first disbursement of the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan is now firmly scheduled for June 2026, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas confirmed at the close of the Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) in Brussels on Tuesday 12 May. Defence ministers also gave their political backing to mobilising additional European Peace Facility (EPF) funds, with concrete…
The European Union on Monday 11 May 2026 reached unanimous political agreement to impose new sanctions on the leadership of Hamas and on the Israeli settler movement in the occupied West Bank, ending a deadlock that had paralysed the file for over a year. “From deadlock to delivery” The agreement was struck at the Foreign…
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivered what Westminster watchers described as a make-or-break speech at the Coin Street Community Centre in London on Monday 11 May 2026, fighting for his political survival after his Labour Party’s catastrophic performance in the local elections of 7 May. The damage: 1,100 seats, Wales lost, Reform surges The…