EU external relations, diplomacy, and security
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…
European Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on a comprehensive overhaul of the EU’s return system for irregular migrants, following intensive trilogue negotiations that concluded on 22 May. The deal establishes new harmonised rules for the detention and return of third-country nationals who do not have the right to remain in the…
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.
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.
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 External Action Service watches with unease as Trump and Xi open a two-day summit in Beijing on Thursday 14 May 2026, with Brussels concerned about US softening on Taiwan and a possible bilateral deal on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
The Council adopts a decision concluding a Passenger Name Record agreement with Iceland aimed at preventing terrorist offences and serious cross-border crime.
