Written by Clare Ferguson with Áine Feeney.
As Members gather for the last plenary session before the summer recess, their agenda covers enlargement, foreign affairs, competitiveness, the EU budget, agriculture, social security and the environment. On Tuesday morning, a debate will follow a presentation of the programme of activities of the Irish Presidency of the…
Written by Clare Ferguson with Áine Feeney
Ireland is a parliamentary republic, with a bicameral parliament. The country currently elects 14 Members to the European Parliament. This will be the country’s eighth EU Council presidency. This year, the Irish Presidency’s main political priorities are competitiveness, promoting European values, and security. It will prioritise delivery on…
Written by Clare Fergurson and Katarzyna Sochacka.
The session further focused on Europe’s economic independence, digital sovereignty and resilience on artificial intelligence, as well as the EU’s role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East. Members debated the electrification action plan, the resilience of the European transport sector amid ongoing geopolitical challenges ,and…
Written by Silvia González Vidal and Colin Murphy.
Cyberbullying is a real issue for the current generation of young people who have grown up in the always connected digital world. While trends have indicated that both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying are becoming younger, it can also affect adults, with women at greater risk of…
Written by Ralf Drachenberg, Annastiina Papunen and Rebecca Zamponi.
General
The European Council will be preceded by pre-summit meetings of European political parties with their respective affiliated EU leaders. Additionally, a group of ‘like-minded’ countries on migration will also meet prior to the start of the meeting. Following a similar pattern, a new group of…
Written by Clare Ferguson with Áine Feeney.
European Union enlargement and competitiveness are prominent issues on the agenda for the European Parliament’s June plenary session. Jakov Milatović, President of Montenegro is expected to address Parliament in a formal sitting on Tuesday. During the question time session, a European Commissioner will respond to Members’ questions on…
Written by Sidonia Mazur.
The proposal sets the 2027 European Union budget commitments at €199.9 billion and payments at €212 billion. The Commission underlined that the ‘next year’s budget will continue to provide crucial funding for established EU political priorities, including major support for Ukraine’.
Background – 2027 budget procedure
The European Parliament is one of the…
Written by Silvia González Vidal.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) introduced the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002. The day is observed annually on 12 June. The 2026 World Day focuses on reinforcing and accelerating actions aimed at preventing and eliminating child labour, with a key message: ‘Red Card to Child Labour: Fair play…
Written by Monika Kiss and Linda Kohl.
The EU aviation sector generates around €830 billion to €851 billion annually (about 4.4-5 % of EU GDP) and supports 1.8 million jobs directly and 14 million jobs indirectly. The workforce includes aircrew, ground handling staff, air traffic management personnel, controllers, maintenance workers, and freight staff, with aircrew forming the largest group.…
Written by Sebastian Clapp.
Strengthening joint capability development has become a central priority of EU defence policy in response to persistent capability gaps, fragmentation in procurement, and the deteriorating European security environment. Although Member States retain primary responsibility for defence planning and acquisitions, the European Union has progressively established instruments intended to encourage cooperative capability…
