Brussels-watchers face an exceptionally dense agenda this week: the Competitiveness Council convenes on 28 May for Internal Market and Industry under Cypriot chair Michael Damianos, followed by Research and Space on 29 May. The European Innovation Council Summit 2026 runs in parallel, while preparations begin for the 23-24 June European Council.
Between 26 May and 1 June 2026, the EU institutional agenda intensifies ahead of the June European Council, with foreign ministers gathering for the informal Gymnich meeting on 27-28 May, the Competitiveness Council debating the Industrial Accelerator Act on 28-29 May, and the EU-Western Balkans summit setting strategic enlargement direction.
EU foreign ministers concluded a pivotal Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 24 May with commitments to substantially increase defence readiness by 2030, approve a further €4 billion in military assistance for Ukraine, and coordinate responses to escalating tensions in the Middle East following recent hostilities between Iran and Israel. The Council’s deliberations, chaired by High…
The European Union has committed an additional €4 billion to bolster its global development strategy as foreign ministers meeting in Brussels this week acknowledged the mounting challenges posed by an increasingly multipolar world order. The Foreign Affairs Council’s Development configuration on 23 May endorsed a strategic recalibration of EU external action, prioritising partnerships with Africa,…
European Council President António Costa and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have concluded the eighth EU-Mexico summit in Mexico City with the signing of a landmark modernised Global Agreement and interim Trade Agreement that will reshape economic relations between the two partners. The agreements, signed on 22 May 2026, will eliminate tariffs on 99 per cent…
High Representative Kaja Kallas faces Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week for the first Question Time since a long pause, with the EU’s strategy on the crises in the Middle East at the centre of the debate – the situations in Iran, Israel and Syria all on the agenda.
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.
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 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.
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.
