US President Joe Biden said on Monday (26 February) he hopes to have a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza start by next Monday as the warring parties appeared to close in on a deal during negotiations in Qatar that also aim to broker the release of hostages.

The EU is considering defining post-consumer plastic waste as "plastic waste placed on the market of a Member State or a third country" - a definition which could threaten the entire recycling industry in Europe, write Lauriane Veillard and Joan Marc Simon.

Less than two weeks after Belgrade and Zagreb entered a spat over the burning of the effigy of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the carnival in Kaštela, Croatia, the diplomatic row continued over the weekend.

Only 10% of parents hosting Ukrainian refugee children in Romania can meet all their basic needs, while 26% can meet most of their needs, and 60% can meet only some or part of their needs, according to an analysis carried out by Save the Children Association throughout February.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was "killed" because he was close to being freed in a prisoner swap and President Vladimir Putin could not tolerate the thought of him being released, a close ally alleged on Monday (26 February).

The European Parliament's plan to use TikTok in campaigning for the June EU elections, despite prior cybersecurity bans, raises questions about its secure implementation as specifics regarding the Parliament's approach remain undisclosed.

Hungary’s now ex-president Katalin Novák, embroiled in a pardon scandal, officially ceased to be head of state when the country’s parliament accepted her resignation and immediately elected her successor.

Implementation of Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan could be delayed by a general election result that either force prolonged negotiations or create political instability, rating agency DBRS warned on Monday.

The farmers' protests in Brussels mean nothing if lawmakers fail to follow up with concrete EU regulation, Luís Mira, secretary-general of the Portuguese Farmers' Confederation, said in response to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech laying out a “set of intentions”.

The survey on living conditions published on Monday by the state-run National Statistics Institute (INE) presented negative trends while also revealing somewhat optimistic information.

The Emir of Qatar, Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, will make his first visit to Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.

The Danish investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 explosions has been closed, the Danish authorities announced on Monday, less than a month after Sweden did the same, but gave no details as to why.

South Korean company Hyundai appears to be the favourite to build units VII and VIII of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, which is set to become the largest nuclear project in south-east Europe after the Bulgarian parliament ensured that competition was eliminated.

The upcoming election for a new regional governor in Sardinia on Sunday is likely to have repercussions at a national level, as both centre-right and centre-left candidates are currently neck-and-neck.

A total of 43 out of 56 investments under the Polish recovery plan may not be implemented before the end of August 2026, which would result in them not being financed with EU funds, according to an analysis by business consultancy CRIDO.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday (26 February) that without new US military aid his country would be unable to defend a Black Sea shipping corridor that has allowed Kyiv to export millions of tons of grain to global markets.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (26 February) indicated he would be open to non-EU purchases of ammunition for Ukraine as allies agreed to ramp up efforts to deliver more shells to Kyiv in light of a serious shortage. 

Ukraine has received less than a third of the one million artillery shells the EU has promised to deliver by March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday (26 February).

Rare Disease Day, 29 February, marks a moment in which Europe is facing a generational opportunity to scale up programmes capable of improving millions of lives. A new data-led, 360-comprehensive strategy is called for by rare disease experts.

For the fifth consecutive year, Poland is swimming in the slow lane, ranking last in the latest edition of the Contraception Policy Atlas Europe 2024.