European Council meets 18-19 June 2026 in Brussels with the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework as central agenda item, plus Ukraine support, defence, and One Europe One Market progress.
Europe Day on 9 May 2026 marks the 76th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. EU institutions open their doors to citizens with events celebrating the foundations of European integration.
MEPs are pushing the Commission for timely and effective enforcement of the EU Digital Markets Act in April 2026 amid external pushback, with closer scrutiny of AI search tools and cloud services.
European Commission holds Reality Check on the revision of the eInvoicing Directive in May 2026, gathering business input ahead of revised rules expected in Q4 2026 under the Single Market Strategy.
European Parliament negotiates pushing the next Horizon Europe budget to €200 billion for 2028-2034, up from the Commission’s €175 billion proposal, signalling EU strategic focus on research.
New 2026 data confirms the EU has cut net domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 40% since 1990, driven by renewables, fossil-fuel switching, energy efficiency and structural economic change.
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism began charging fees in January 2026. The Commission’s review proposes expansion to downstream products and impacts global carbon pricing adoption.
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement begins provisional application on 1 May 2026, opening tariff cuts on cars, pharmaceuticals and agri-food across Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The REPowerEU regulation banning Russian gas imports took its first hard effect on 25 April 2026: short-term LNG contracts prohibited. Pipeline gas follows on 17 June. Full LNG ban end-2026, pipeline ban autumn 2027.
The European Commission unveiled on 17 April 2026 the first Action Plan under the Pact for the Mediterranean: 21 concrete initiatives across people, economy and security, including a Mediterranean University Initiative and a Firefighting Hub in Cyprus.