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.
The revised Victims’ Rights Directive comes to plenary debate today at 13:00 in Strasbourg, ahead of Thursday’s final vote. For the 75 million Europeans who become victims of crime each year, this is the most significant reform of EU victim-protection legislation in over a decade.
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.
Cybersec Europe 2026 opens in Brussels today as MEPs in Strasbourg debate EU cyber resilience in the face of advanced AI systems including Mythos. The Commission’s Tech Sovereignty package – Cloud and AI Development Act and Chips Act 2 – is expected on 27 May.
The European Commission presents its Fertilisers Action Plan during the May plenary in Strasbourg, addressing the dependency of EU agriculture on imported nitrogen, persistently elevated prices since the 2022 energy crisis, and the need to anchor strategic production capacity in the Union.
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.
