EU institutions, elections, parties, and governance
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.
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.
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.
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.
EU co-legislators struck a deal in the early hours of 7 May 2026 on the AI Act Digital Omnibus, postponing high-risk AI obligations from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027 and adding a prohibition on AI nudification apps and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Co-rapporteurs Kokalari and McNamara framed it as ‘simplification without weakening safety’.
EU defence ministers met this week to discuss reinforced military support for Ukraine and EU defence readiness as Middle East conflict reshapes the security landscape.
A new Commission report finds uneven enforcement of the 2009 Employers Sanctions Directive and recommends targeted reforms to protect labour standards.
