On 3 July 2026, Madrid hosted the 8th edition of the Madrid Summit, a conference focusing on the main challenges currently facing the LGBTQIA+ community in Europe and internationally. Launched in 2017 during WorldPride Madrid, the Summit has established itself as a leading forum for analysing the challenges affecting LGBTIQA people around the world. This […]
EU institutions receive the Ombudsman’s award for their tool for tracking EU legislation
The EU institutions have been awarded the 2026 Ombudsman’s Prize for Excellence in Open Government for their user-friendly tool, the EU Law Tracker. On Tuesday 30 June, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission won the award for ‘excellence in open administration’ at the 2026 Ombudsman’s Award for Good Administration […]
The Council and the Parliament reach an agreement to strengthen the European Chemicals Agency
The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to strengthen the management and funding of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The new rules will create an independent legal framework to help ECHA manage its growing number of responsibilities efficiently. Since its establishment in 2007, ECHA and its scientific […]
MEPs back the EU’s new defence innovation programme
The bill aims to respond to the new security environment brought about by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in which rapid, low-cost cycles of defence innovation are essential. On Thursday,the Committee on Industry, Research and Energyand theCommittee on Security and Defenceadopted their position on the establishment of the Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation Programme […]
The Commission is strengthening Europol and Eurojust to step up the fight against cross-border crime and terrorism
On 24 June, the European Commission proposed new measures to strengthen the EU’s response to an evolving crime landscape. Crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated, international and digital. To tackle serious crime effectively, the police, customs authorities, prosecutors and the courts must work closely together from the start of an investigation through to the final court […]
The Commission is providing €846 million to Spain to support recovery following the DANA in 2024
The European Commission has approved a payment of 846 million euros to Spain from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to support reconstruction efforts following the devastating floods that hit the Valencian Community in October 2024. This sum supplements an emergency advance of 100 million euros disbursed in March 2025 to help get recovery and relief […]
The Commission welcomes the political agreement on criminal law provisions against the sexual abuse of children
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached yesterday, 22 June 2026, with the European Parliament and the Council on the Directive updating criminal law provisions on the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Worrying trends such as the proliferation of child abuse material generated by artificial intelligence (AI) make today’s agreement all the more […]
Leaders of the European Parliament are visiting Dublin ahead of Ireland’s EU Presidency.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the leaders of the political groups will visit Dublin to prepare for Ireland’s forthcoming presidency of the Council of the EU. On Tuesday 23 June, the leaders of the European Parliament will meet with the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly, the Irish Prime Minister, Micheál Martin, […]
A solid start: first progress report on the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap
Following the signing of the Joint Declaration on the EU’s legislative priorities for 2026 and the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have worked closely together to effectively deliver on all the priorities set out therein. Progress will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. The June 2026 progress […]