The European Parliament has formally approved legislation that will force banks and other payment service providers to offer EU citizens and businesses the option of performing virtually instantaneous credit transfers.

With the clock ticking to reach a deal before the end of the legislature, the European Parliament on Wednesday (7 February) approved its amendments on the new rules for the highly controversial new genomic technologies (NGTs).

Maros Šefčovič, the vice-president of the European Commission, outlined on Wednesday (7 February) the work the executive is doing to respond to the challenges facing agriculture as part of a dialogue with food chain stakeholders while calling on MEPs to overcome political polarisation.

While former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to be aired, his pilgrimage to Moscow is already a major propaganda victory for the Kremlin.

Belgium has postponed a vote by EU ambassadors on new emission standards for trucks – initially planned for Wednesday (7 February) – to Friday, after Germany withdrew its previous support for the law, leaving the majority unclear.

Legislators from the Council of EU member states and the European Parliament reached agreement on Wednesday (7 February) on a scaled-back version of what was initially pitched as an EU sovereignty fund to support green technologies.

Ukraine urged the EU on Wednesday (7 February) to take "urgent steps" to increase deliveries of artillery shells, with the country increasingly outmanned and outgunned on the battlefield as the war nears its third year.

In an attempt to calm farmers' protests, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday promised to strengthen the national food chain law, introduce reciprocity in the conditions for agricultural imports, the so-called "mirror clauses", and simplify the processing of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies, among other relief measures to avoid what the far-right Vox party described as "the rebellion of the tractors".

The European Parliament gave the final approval on Wednesday (7 February) to the new rules that will limit workers’ exposure to lead and diisocyanates and step up health protection. 

Small modular reactors (SMRs) will be partly relied upon to meet the EU's 2040 climate objectives, with an industrial alliance to be launched shortly and the first reactors deployed "by 2030", the European Commission announced on Tuesday (6 February).

The Reconquête! party of French far-right leader Eric Zemmour has joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament in a bid to strengthen the right-wing camp after the EU elections in June.

The Council of EU member states and the European Parliament agreed on Tuesday (6 February) to label nuclear power as a strategic technology for the EU's decarbonisation, following months of intense negotiations in Brussels over the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA).

Russia plans to nearly triple its LNG export capacity by 2030, with four new terminals in the Arctic due to bring more revenues for Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Yet, Ukraine’s allies have a strong leverage on Russian LNG exports, writes Andrii Zhupanyn.

The industry sells itself on producing clothes from 'recycled materials', but these are mostly made from recycled plastics that cannot be recycled a second time. NGOs explain that the only solution is to buy less clothing.

Both the cuts to the EU4Health programme and delays on tobacco control action have left many unanswered questions about the EU health priorities over the past week.

EU member countries and lawmakers reached an agreement on Tuesday (6 February) on the bloc's first rules to tackle violence against women, the European Parliament and officials said.

The European Parliament inaugurated on Tuesday (7 February) an exhibition dedicated to the WikiLeaks founder, journalist Julian Assange, ahead of the UK High Court's decision on his extradition to the US, expected on 20-21 February. 

Georgia's acting prime minister accused Ukraine on Tuesday (6 February) of trying to spread war to his country, after authorities seized what they said was a truck loaded with explosives bound for Russia.

This week marks the beginning of what many in Brussels consider to be the next phase of the European Green Deal – a new era focused on actually meeting the EU’s objective of reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century.

Dutch government formation talks were thrown in disarray on Tuesday (6 February) as centrist party NSC unexpectedly stepped away, complicating the task for far-right politician Geert Wilders to assemble a working coalition.