After Parliament’s 418-207 vote on 29 April 2026 urging the Commission to trigger the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism against Slovakia, MEPs return to the case in Strasbourg this week amid renewed concerns over the Fico government’s dismantling of anti-corruption institutions.
With 508 votes in favour, 64 against and 90 abstentions, the European Parliament approved on 19 May 2026 the revised Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation, introducing mandatory screening across all Member States for defence, semiconductors, AI, critical raw materials and financial services.
The European Commission will table its Tech Sovereignty package on 27 May 2026, with two flagship instruments: the Cloud and AI Development Act and the Chips Act 2. The package responds to renewed concerns about Europe’s dependence on non-European cloud and frontier-semiconductor capacity.
The World Bank’s April 2026 Commodity Markets Outlook forecasts Brent crude averaging $86 a barrel this year, up from $69 in 2025. For European industry, the question is whether the Continent’s energy-cost competitiveness can survive a sustained Hormuz disruption.
Two and a half years into Robert Fico’s fourth term as Slovak prime minister, the institutional architecture of anti-corruption enforcement built during the 2020-2023 Hegerova governments has been substantially dismantled. The European Parliament’s pending resolution on Thursday lays out a detailed list of grievances.
A new round of Trump-Putin phone diplomacy revived speculation on Monday 18 May 2026 of a possible bilateral meeting before the June G7 cut-off, against the backdrop of stalled Ukraine ceasefire talks, the Iran war, and Putin’s imminent state visit to Beijing.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Liuzhou in China’s Guangxi region in the early hours of Monday 18 May 2026, killing two, injuring four, collapsing 13 buildings and forcing evacuation of more than 7,000 residents.
The Patrick Bruel #MeToo affair entered a new phase on Monday 18 May 2026 with the singer breaking his silence on Instagram, denying allegations from over 30 women whose complaints have now been regrouped at the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.
European equity markets traded firmer on Monday 18 May 2026 as the CAC 40 reclaimed lost ground and the FTSE 100 reasserted technical control, while oil prices kept swinging on Strait of Hormuz tension. The ECB countdown to the 4-5 June decision is now fully on.
Anglo American announced on Monday 18 May 2026 the sale of its Australian steelmaking coal portfolio to UK-registered Dhilmar Ltd for up to US$3.875 billion in cash, completing its exit from coking coal ahead of its merger with Teck Resources.
Israeli naval commandos intercepted at least 31 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters off Cyprus on Monday 18 May 2026, halting an aid mission of more than 50 boats that had sailed from Marmaris, Turkey, on 14 May. Turkey condemned the operation as piracy.
The European Parliament opened its May 2026 plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday afternoon. Roberta Metsola met Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at 16:15, opened the session at 17:00, and inaugurated the EU Defence Exhibition at 17:30. The week’s agenda covers Iran, Ukraine, steel and AI in trade.
Romania’s political parties met President Nicusor Dan in Cotroceni on Monday 18 May 2026 for consultations on a new prime minister after the Bolojan government fell on 5 May. PSD rejected another Bolojan-led cabinet; PNL ruled out any coalition with PSD; AUR said it was ready to govern.
Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership entered its sixth day of acute leadership crisis on Monday 18 May 2026, with Wes Streeting in open contest and Andy Burnham cleared to fight a parliamentary by-election in Makerfield within weeks.
The European Union joined on 15 May the Enlarged Partial Agreement of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, a foundational step in what may become one of the most ambitious accountability mechanisms of the post-1945 era.
The EU-Mercosur agreement enters provisional application on 1 May, but its real significance is strategic, not commercial: it is the EU’s most explicit answer to the Trump administration’s protectionist turn, and a test of whether democracies can still write the rules of global trade.
More than 90 Labour MPs have publicly called for Keir Starmer to resign after the party’s catastrophic local election defeat to Reform UK. Brussels watches the crisis with concern given Starmer’s deliberate strategy of re-engagement with the EU since 2024.
The European Central Bank held its deposit rate at 2% for a third consecutive meeting on 30 April, but a Bloomberg survey of economists now sees two summer rate hikes as the Iran war drives eurozone headline inflation toward a projected 2.6% in 2026.
The European Parliament prepares to vote on the EU’s toughest steel trade defence in eight years: a 50% out-of-quota duty, a 47% cut in tariff-free import volumes and a Melt and Pour traceability requirement, set to enter force on 1 July 2026.
The European Parliament opens its Strasbourg hemicycle to the public on Sunday 17 May 2026 for the institution’s flagship Open Day, with a full civic and cultural programme designed to bring citizens face-to-face with the work of MEPs.
