Last March 5th, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosted the first meeting of the Special Panel on child safety online. The panel, announced in the 2025 State of the Union address, will provide expert recommendations to better protect and empower children online and will explore the need for potential harmonised age restrictions to access social […]
Commission launches EU Industrial, Maritime and Port Strategies to boost competitiveness across the maritime sector
The European Commission today adopted an EU Maritime Industrial Strategy and a Port Strategy to boost competitiveness,sustainability, decarbonisation, safety and resilience in the EU maritime sector. The Strategies focus on ports, maritime transport and shipbuilding. Europe is a continent with a large maritime fleet, with the largest collective maritime area in the world. Its maritime […]
Coal and Steel Research Fund: Council adopts position to make steel and coal industries cleaner and more competitive
The Council has reached an agreement (general approach) on a package of two proposals to reform the Coal and Steel Research Fund. The two Council Decisions aim to accelerate and simplify investments in research and innovation to promote competitiveness and a green and just transition for the steel sector and mining regions in the EU. […]
EC proposes €2 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support workers laid off from Liberty Steel in Belgium
The European Commission has proposed mobilising €2 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to support 507 workers made redundant following the bankruptcy of Liberty Steel Belgium. Liberty Steel’s production lines in Belgium were shut down in December 2021 due to a shortage of raw materials. Despite efforts to restructure the entity, production never […]
Von der Leyen promotes OceanEye and calls for an international alliance to strengthen ocean observation and protection
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for the creation of an international alliance to strengthen and expand ocean monitoring and observation. This alliance will support OceanEye, the European ocean observation initiative, to consolidate efforts and collaboration in ocean observation on a global scale. President von der Leyen also announced an […]
EU and Switzerland signed a broad package of agreements to deepen its relationship
On 2 March 2026, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin signed a broad package of agreements aiming to deepen and expand the EU-Switzerland relationship. The package establishes a modern framework for the EU and Switzerland, enabling frictionless access to a market of […]
Commission aims to strenghten the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displace Workers
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and EU Member States on its proposal to strengthen the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF). The EGF is an EU solidarity instrument for workers who have lost their job due to major restructuring, for instance the closing of a factory or the bankruptcy of […]
Commission response to the European citizens’ initiative on reducing unsafe abortion in the EU
The European Commission adopted a Communication in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortion”. This is the twelfth initiative to receive a formal response from the Commission since European Citizens’ Initiatives (ECIs) were launched in 2012. According to the World Health Organisation, around 483,000 unsafe abortions […]
The Commission proposes to open negotiations to extend EU roaming to the Western Balkans
The European Commission has proposedopening negotiations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to integrate them into the EU’s “Roam Like at Home” regime. Once agreements with each of the partners have been finalised and they are all fully aligned with EU roaming rules, people travelling between the EU and the […]