The EU must take responsibility for its own security and strengthen its competitiveness. That was the key message to emerge from the July plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The Brussels-based EESC, which represents civil society at EU level, hosted a debate on the political priorities of the current Presidency of…
MEPs will debate the start of the latest EU presidency, now held by Denmark. They will discuss Denmark’s agenda for its six-month Council Presidency, which started on 1 July, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The debate will take place this week in Strasbourg where MEPs are meeting for the last plenary before the summer break….
Photo by Maximillian Conacher on Unsplash Re-imagining the design of cities, communities and housing is essential to face the current challenges, a recent EESC conference was told. It also heard that civil society organisations (CSOs) have a key role to play in steering this transformation. Sustainability and the right to housing must be at the…
Photo by Daria Mamont on Unsplash Are you an expat in Belgium with concerns about your rights? If so, an upcoming meeting could be just for you. It is organised by New Europeans UK and will be held both in person and online. The UK based group was launched in 2013 to help protect the…
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash A new poll says most Europeans accept they must prepare for war. This comes in the wake of President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities at the weekend. The multi-country polling report, published ahead of the 2025 NATO Summit, shows widespread support across Europe for increases in defence…
Photo by wd toro 🇲🇨 on Unsplash Martin Schirdewan MEP has demanded an EU-wide ban on extraditions to Hungary. The call, by the joint leader of The Left Group in the EU parliament, comes in the wake of a hunger strike by Maja T., a 24-year-old from Germany. He started his protest in a Hungarian…
Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash Mathias De Clercq, Mayor of Ghent, has been elected President of Eurocities. In his new role, he will represent major European cities for the next two years. He succeeds Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig, and will be joined by Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, who is the new Vice…
Photo by James Lee on Unsplash The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has held its first meetings with local and regional politicians from Albania, Kosovo, and Moldova. The aim was to accelerate the three countries’ preparations for accession to the European Union. It is hoped contacts between mayors and councillors from the EU and…
Photo by Antoine Schibler on Unsplash Decentralisation and the transition towards a greener, more sustainable economy were centre-stage at the Enlargement Day conference held by the European Committee of the Regions. The event, on 27-28 May, was the European Union’s largest event of the year dedicated to EU enlargement from a local and regional perspective. …
Photo by Marc Obiols on Unsplash The EU says it has put together teams of firefighters and aircraft to help European countries affected by wildfires. This, it says, is to prepare for the increased wildfire risk during the upcoming summer months, To quickly support local fire brigades, throughout July and August, almost 650 firefighters from 14 European countries will…
