Europe

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos confirmed in late April 2026 that Montenegro and Albania are the frontrunners for the next EU accession wave. Montenegro targets 2028 membership; Albania aims to finish negotiations by 2027.

MEPs voted on 30 April 2026 in favour of a draft report calling on the Commission to propose EU-wide legislation defining rape based on the absence of freely given consent.

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.

On 29 April 2026, MEPs approved the first-ever EU-wide welfare standards for cats and dogs, covering breeding, housing, traceability, import and handling.

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.

On 30 April 2026, MEPs voted a resolution calling for stronger and faster enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, with closer scrutiny of AI-driven search and cloud services from gatekeepers.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational on 10 April 2026 across 29 European countries. Over 45 million border crossings have been registered, 24,000 entry refusals issued, and 600 security risks identified.

EU Parliament and Council negotiators agreed in late April 2026 to postpone certain high-risk AI Act provisions under the ‘digital omnibus’ proposal, while moving to ban ‘nudification’ apps.

Ursula von der Leyen confirmed on 29 April 2026 that the first €6 billion tranche of the EU’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine will be disbursed in Q2 and dedicated to Ukrainian-made drones.

After more than 20 years of talks, the EU-Mercosur interim trade agreement applies provisionally from 1 May 2026, creating a trade area of around 700 million consumers across both blocs.