France's financial markets lost further ground on Wednesday (19 June) after the European Commission announced it intends to open an excessive deficit procedure (EDP) over the national budget, exacerbating fears that the ongoing political reshuffling may compound the country's economic headwinds.

France is lagging behind in the production of medicines, the association of French pharmaceutical companies, Leem, warned in a new barometer published on Tuesday (June 18).

On Monday, the 17th of June, the Council adopted its conclusions on the mid-term review of the 8th environment action programme, paving the way forward to a green, just and inclusive transition for a sustainable Europe. The water community welcomes these conclusions as they stress out ‘the important regulating role of water cycles for ecosystems, human life and the functioning of the economy and our society’.

In this week's Health Brief we look at the health priorities of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council.

The question of how to support the Ukrainian agrifood sector amid Russia’s war remains unanswered after last week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference, the president of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) told Euractiv in an interview.  

Following a lengthy parliamentary debate, the bilateral military agreement between the USA and Sweden has been adopted by the majority of the Swedish Parliament, despite the concerns of the ecologist and far-left opposition about the transfer of nuclear weapons to Swedish soil.

The European Commission has drafted plans to exempt long-haul flights from rules on monitoring their non-CO2 emissions, after international carriers lobbied for an opt-out, documents seen by Reuters showed.

The US Senate on Tuesday (18 June) passed a bill to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy capacity, including by speeding permitting and creating new incentives for advanced nuclear reactor technologies.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Manfred Weber accepting the Polish nominee for EPP vice-president after previously opposing the pick, Italy possibly opposing Kaja Kallas as the pick for EU diplomacy chief, and so much more.

A US soldier was sentenced on Wednesday (19 June) to nearly four years in a Russian penal colony after being found guilty by a Russian court of stealing $113 from his girlfriend and making threats to kill her, a Reuters witness reported from the courtroom.

The collaboration among the left and socialists in France ahead of the snap parliamentary elections later this month has sparked a big debate in Athens, with voices calling for Greek progressives to join forces as well constantly increasing.

NATO is concerned about support Russia could provide for North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, the alliance's head said on Tuesday (18 June) as Russian President Vladimir Putin began his first trip to the reclusive nuclear-armed country in 24 years.

The backstage talks over the EU top jobs continue after an informal summit earlier this week did not seal a preliminary deal, with the centre-right raising additional questions against the Socialist pick.

The EU is becoming increasingly dependent on imports of Russian fertilizers, accounting for around a third of total EU imports of urea. This is providing revenue for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and putting EU producers out of business.

Hungary on Tuesday (18 June) vowed to "make Europe great again" during its EU presidency starting next month, a take on former US president Donald Trump's famous campaign slogan.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who on Tuesday was invited to meet Montenegrin  Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, waited four minutes for his host to show up and left before the meeting took place.

Under pressure from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party, EPP President Manfred Weber approved the nomination of Polish MEP Andrzej Halicki as EPP vice-president despite having previously opposed it on the grounds of gender parity.

Spain's Public Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday narrowly ruled in favour of the inclusion of embezzlement offences in the recently passed and highly controversial amnesty law - a decisive step towards allowing former Catalan separatist president Carles Puigdemont to return to Spain without facing prosecution.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has rejected criticism of his coalition government backing the candidacy of António Costa as European Council president, arguing that there has always been a "great deal of convergence" between his Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Costa's Socialist Party (PS) on EU issues.

Russia is discussing with its closest partners the issue of deploying long-range weapons, TASS state news agency reported on Wednesday (19 June), citing Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.