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.

European NGOs have tested the blood of the EU’s political top brass and found several banned “forever chemicals”, upping the pressure on Brussels to put the bloc’s chemical regulation back on the agenda.

France’s freshly-appointed Gabriel Attal vowed to take down bureaucracy and regulatory weight in a large-scale speech on Tuesday (30 January), joining a growing call across the EU to cut back on red tape.

With one in three women having experienced physical or sexual violence in the EU, awareness-raising and in-community training is key to helping those at risk access support, with various projects being rolled out across Europe.

Russian anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin said on Wednesday (31 January) he had submitted 105,000 signatures of support to the Central Election Commission (CEC), technically enough to challenge incumbent Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election.

The gap between official and real-world car emissions has grown by 80% in the past five years, despite advanced testing procedures in place to prevent such a discrepancy, a new study has found.

The French National Assembly approved a bill on Tuesday night (30 January) to enshrine in the Constitution a law that “guarantees freedom" for women to have access to abortion.

NATO countries are priming their citizens to be ready for the next global conflict between the great powers. Once unthinkable, the idea of a third world war seems closer than ever, writes Maurizio Geri.