EU ambassadors met yesterday (July 10th) to prepare a joint response after President Viktor Orbán’s unexpected visit to negotiate peace with Putin. The amicable nature of the dialogue between the two leaders in Moscow upset EU ambassadors, as Hungary used the European Council presidency’s logo despite claiming a national agenda.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she did not intend to run again as the Greens’ candidate for chancellor at the 2025 federal election, making Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck the likely contender.

NATO leaders backed Ukraine's "irreversible" path into the Western military alliance as expected on Wednesday (10 July), but stopped short of providing a concrete timetable and framework.

EU member states on Wednesday (10 July) blasted Hungary for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's solo diplomatic initiative on Ukraine but did not discuss ways to rein in Budapest's potential future efforts.

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), cut-off from many other far-right parties in the European Parliament, managed to launch its own parliamentary group, the third coalition to the right of the EPP in the European Parliament on Wednesday (10 July).

With the right in flux, increasing fragmentation of the political landscape in member states, and the need for von der Leyen to secure a governing majority in the European Parliament, group formation has never looked so messy.

No one has come out on top in France's recent snap parliamentary elections, French President Emmanuel Macron said in his first reaction to the election results in a letter to the French published in the regional daily press on Wednesday (10 July).

The Greens' co-presidents report having had a “constructive” meeting with Ursula von der Leyen about her candidacy for the European Commission presidency as they call for a strong pro-EU coalition, especially in light of November's US elections.

US-made F-16 fighter jets and additional air defence systems are on their way to Ukraine, expected to be operational this summer, Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (10 July), following NATO's decision to boost the country's air defence.

At Budapest's initiative, EU agriculture ministers will discuss on Monday (15 July) whether insects, plant-based foods or lab-grown meat could jeopardise Europe's culinary traditions.

The European Commission has been very busy handing out requests for information and preliminary views on what it sees as Big Tech's anticompetitive practices under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU's landmark digital antitrust law.

Budapest on Wednesday (10 July) downplayed mounting concerns that EU countries could boycott future informal meetings hosted by the Hungarian EU presidency.

The Bulgarian government has averted large-scale pharmacy protests, agreeing to pay higher fees to pharmacies supplying patients with free medicines. Protests were threatened over government plans to cut already low fees.

A recent study published in April 2024 by Artelys and Frontier Economics reveals that achieving the 2030 ambitions set by REPowerEU in a cost-effective way would require 45 TWh of Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS).

With Paris set to welcome the world for the Summer Olympics, its mayor, Anne Hidalgo (Parti Socialiste, PS), expressed her "immense relief" at the defeat of the far right in snap elections and said she was reassured that the current government would remain in office for the Olympic period.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has transformed the EU’s defence role. Euractiv spoke to Jeff Shockey, senior vice president, Global Government Relations, RTX about the role of the defence industry and his outlook for the future.

In Europe, millions of citizens care about the protection of animals. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union explicitly recognises that animals are sentient beings and that the EU and Member States must pay full regard to their welfare requirements in policymaking.

The European Commission designated the pornography platform XNXX as a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA) on Wednesday (10 July), making it comply with the DSA's strictest regulations.

The EU’s food safety authority (EFSA) said that the Commission's criteria to relax rules on certain gene-edited foods are 'scientifically justified', while the Hungarian Council Presidency is pulling the brakes on the file.  

Maintaining net neutrality is crucial for Europe's startup ecosystem to foster innovation, economic growth, and strategic autonomy. Introducing network fees would harm startups, stifling their ability to compete and innovate, ultimately weakening the EU’s competitiveness and technological autonomy.