Over the past two years, Budapest's ties with Russia have become the 'elephant in the room'.

Top EU officials struggled to keep EU-US trade and tech talks alive this week, with pressure on both sides of the Atlantic rising to lock in a final policy deal before the November US presidential election.

The EU mission deployed to observe Senegal's February 25 presidential election on Wednesday (31 January) said it wanted to meet detained opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, stating it was "very important" that he be able to campaign.

The leader of Hamas was expected in Cairo on Thursday (1 February) for talks on a proposed truce in Gaza, as Israel kept up its offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Intra-EU calls are often too expensive today and consumers either turn to online apps or choose not to make the call. The surcharges for these calls are unjustified, disproportionate and should now be banned, writes Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director General at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).

The West cannot allow Ukraine to run out of money and the Biden administration will continue to support Kyiv, US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen said on Wednesday (31 January) in a bid to reassure European officials at joint talks.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its growth forecast for the eurozone this year, as the continued impact of the energy crisis and weak consumer demand raise growing concerns about the currency union’s economic resilience.

The European Commission adopted the European cybersecurity certification scheme on Wednesday (31 January), the EU’s first cyber scheme to certify ICT products, in line with the aims of the EU's Cybersecurity Act.

With farmers continuing to block roads and target key infrastructure across Europe, several organisations are planning to further turn up the heat on policymakers and rally outside a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday (1 February).

In the face of growing protests by farmers, the European Commission officially proposed on Wednesday (31 January) introducing safeguard measures to cap Ukrainian food imports and accepted France's proposal for a partial derogation from the fallow-land obligations for farmers.

A group of public health organisations directed harsh criticism at the European Commission for continuing to drag its feet on the revision of the EU Council recommendation on smoke-free environments.

The negotiations on the world’s first treaty on Artificial Intelligence failed to solve the thorny issue of whether private companies should be covered. At the same time, the latest draft, seen by Euractiv, further watered down an already weakened text.

UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris briefed British MPs on Wednesday (31 January) on the details of a deal to restore the Northern Irish Assembly after two years of deadlock.

The EU acknowledged on Wednesday (31 January) that the bloc will fall short of the promised one million artillery rounds it had pledged for Ukraine by March, as Brussels urged EU member states to step up weapons deliveries to Kyiv.

The upcoming EU election was meant to be a shining example of the Europeanisation of democracy. But with the once-promising lead candidate system dying a slow death, it seems the elections will be a purely national race in each EU country.

The Catalan pro-independence party has threatened to withdraw its support for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist party if they do not a pass “comprehensive” amnesty law to pardon all offences committed by Catalan separatist forces between 2012 and 2023.

Germany’s TÜV Nord Group is launching the world’s "first and only comprehensive certification" scheme for critical raw materials along the entire value chain – from exploration to extraction and processing, up to the final product.

The centre-right European People’s Party, liberal Renew, Socialists and Democrats, Greens, and national-conservative ECR all urged EU leaders to agree on further financial aid for Ukraine’s defence efforts during the extraordinary European Council summit starting on Thursday (1 February). 

The European Commission presented on Wednesday (31 January) new recommendations on vaccine-preventable cancers setting targets for member states to boost human papillomaviruses (HPV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination.  

EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday (1 February) are likely to propose holding an annual debate on a planned €50 billion Ukraine aid package, but without the possibility of a yearly veto, in a bid to overcome opposition from Hungary, according to draft summit conclusions.