The Council today adopted new rules to improve cooperation between national data protection authorities in enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in order to speed up the process of handling cross-border data protection complaints. The measures adopted will streamline administrative procedures concerning, for example, the rights of complainants or the admissibility of cases, thereby […]
Consumer protection: Council approves updated Alternative Dispute Resolution directive
The Council gave its final approval to a directive updating, simplifying and improving the existing framework for alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution refers to out-of-court methods of resolving disputes between consumers and traders, usually with the help of impartial third parties. The legal text adopted today aims to make alternative dispute resolution a more […]
Council approves new rules for greater transparency in the funding of European parties and foundations
The Council gave its final green light to changes to the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations. This revision of the regulation is aimed at reinforcing the transparency of European political parties and strengthening the framework for their funding, in particular to counter the risks of manipulation and interference by […]
President Costa to travel to Latin America for COP30 and EU-CELAC Summits
In early November, the President of the European Council, António Costa, will travel to Brazil to attend the COP30 Climate Summit and also to Colombia, where he will co-chair the fourth CELAC-EU summit and the EU-Caribbean leaders’ meeting. COP 30 – 6 and 7 November The UN COP30 Leaders’ Summit will be held in the […]
Council agrees its position on rules to phase out Russian gas imports under REPowerEU
The Council today agreed on its negotiating position on the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas. The regulation constitutes a central element of the EU’s REPowerEU roadmap to end dependency on Russian energy, following Russia’s weaponisation of gas supplies and repeated disruptions of gas supplies to the EU with significant effects on the European […]
The first EU-Egypt summit will be held in Brussels on 22 October
The President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will represent the EU at the first EU-Egypt summit, which will take place in Brussels on 22 October 2025. President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi will represent Egypt. The summit will discuss bilateral relations and ways to further […]
Jordan: Council adopts negotiating position on EU assistance of EUR 500 million in loans
The Council decided today on its position in negotiations with the European Parliament on the provision of a further EUR 500 million of macro-financial assistance to Jordan. The EU assistance will help strengthen Jordan’s economic stability and underpin its ongoing reform programme in the face of growing internal and external challenges. It aims to support […]
António Costa “There will be no credible and successful negotiations no lasting peace without Ukraine and without the European Union”
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference 2025, European Council President António Costa highlighted that the EU will continue to support Ukraine as an integral part of its project for peace. “On 24 February 2022, the European Union changed. On the very first day of the war in Ukraine, at 7 pm, European leaders gathered for […]
“We must be better, stronger and faster”: European leaders’ defence conclusions
On 3 February a meeting took place at the Egmont Palace (Brussels, Belgium) between António Costa (President of the European Council), Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Mark Rutte (NATO Secretary General) and Keir Starmer (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom). At the event, several relevant aspects of current political affairs were […]