The European Parliament gave its consent this week in Strasbourg to the EU’s accession to a major international cybercrime convention, marking a significant step in building a transnational framework against the rising tide of cyber-enabled crime affecting all 27 member states.
The European Parliament and Commission convened on 21 May to evaluate the EU’s health emergency response mechanisms following a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise vessel in late April 2026, with lawmakers pressing for enhanced cross-border coordination and increased funding for the bloc’s recently established health authority. The outbreak, which occurred as the vessel…
The European Parliament and Commission convened on 21 May to conduct a comprehensive review of the EU’s health emergency response mechanisms following a hantavirus outbreak aboard the expedition cruise vessel MV Hondius in late April 2026. The incident, which prompted immediate public health interventions across multiple member states, has brought renewed scrutiny to cross-border disease…
The European Parliament will vote in Strasbourg on Thursday 21 May 2026 on a resolution calling for an urgent EU response to democratic backsliding in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico, citing dismantled anti-corruption bodies and undermined judicial independence.
In a Strasbourg ceremony on Tuesday 19 May 2026, the European Parliament honoured the first laureates of the European Order of Merit, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Polish President and Solidarność leader Lech Wałęsa, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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 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.
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.
