The EU will help Mauritania curb the number of migrants passing through the country en route to Spain's Canary Islands, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced during a visit to the West African country on Thursday (8 February).

Amid calls from several EU leaders to re-examine the balance of market power in the supply chain, the retailers' association Eurocommerce has called for stricter rules against transnational purchase alliances to be avoided.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced on Thursday (8 February) Ukraine's top commander Valery Zaluzhny, saying that the army needed "updated leadership",  in a move that ended months of tensions between the two top officials.

It looks like despite political infighting, the US Senate will unlock its $60-billion military aid package to Ukraine as it fights Russian aggression.

Negotiators from the European Commission, Council and Parliament struck a deal on the Platform Work Directive - for the second time - on Thursday (8 February), with all eyes now on member states, who have been asked to rubberstamp it on Friday.

Meta and TikTok are suing the European Commission over a supervisory fee that companies affected by the EU’s Digital Services Act will have to pay yearly.

The federal cabinet approved the strategy for international digital policy on Wednesday (7 February). The strategy aims to foster Germany’s bargaining power on the international stage to preserve democratic values and ensure access to the internet without censorship. Experts lament the lack of concrete measures.

The pro-government majority at the French National Assembly was thrown into uncertainty as a key centrist ally to French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the door to future cooperation shut late on Wednesday (7 February).

The European Commission on Thursday (8 February) dismissed reports that it was considering sanctioning US right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson over his controversial interview with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group’s new far-right friends have started making some more moderate national delegations uncomfortable.

The European Parliament adopted on Thursday (8 February) its position on the controversial Prüm II regulation, a Commission proposal for automated data exchange for police cooperation, despite concerns.

With the US still failing to unblock aid for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed on Thursday (8 February) that both Brussels and Washington must do more to send a “very clear signal" to Russia's Vladimir Putin.

In December 2023, EU legislators reached a long-awaited agreement on the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). While the agreement still has to be formally adopted and enter into force, FIEC and its Irish President, Philip Crampton, have already taken a closer look at what will become a key legislative text that will shape the European renovation and new construction market for the years to come.

Russia's Central Election Commission on Thursday (8 February) expectedly disqualified the only anti-war candidate in the presidential election, Boris Nadezhdin, due to what it said were multiple errors in the signatures he collected in support of the nomination.

Defence was on everyone’s lips at the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) annual forum on Wednesday and Thursday (7-8 February), as member states call for a ramp up in defence and military spending, and EU’s Charles Michel wants a “real Defence Union”.

The European Parliament and the Council of EU member states agreed on Wednesday evening (7 February) to grant a two-year delay for sector-specific standards under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), offering a break to mining and fossil fuel firms targeted by the upcoming transparency rules.

The German government plans to support local tech start-ups with €1.75 billion but experts point out the envisaged funding would be a drop in the ocean, given that Germany is lagging far behind internationally in this field.

This week, the Beyond the Byline podcast looks at the Greens congress, their pro-electoral pledge and the candidates that will represent the coalition in the elections.

Republicans in the US Senate on Wednesday (7 February) defeated a bipartisan effort to bolster border security that had taken months to negotiate, but said they could still approve aid for Ukraine and Israel that had been tied up in the deal.

More than 100 websites disguised as local news outlets in Europe, Asia and Latin America are pushing pro-China content in a widespread influence campaign linked to a Beijing public relations firm, digital watchdog Citizen Lab has found.