European Union

The press briefing ahead of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Social policy) will take place on Friday, 26 June 2026 at 13.30.

Today, the Council decided to temporarily restrict visa provision for Somali nationals after the Commission assessed cooperation on readmission as insufficient.

The Council adopted two regulations enacting the EU's tariff reductions set out in the EU-US Joint Statement, while ensuring robust safeguards and preserving the necessary flexibility.

President of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, travels to Budapest, where he will meet the Hungarian Prime Minister and the Hungarian Minister of Finance.

Ten years after the Brexit referendum, a majority of Britons believe that leaving the European Union was a mistake. Leading Labour politicians such as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, are calling for the UK to rejoin the EU. At the same time, the Reform UK party led by "Mr Brexit" Nigel Farage has been leading the polls for months. The press looks at where the country is heading.

In recent days, the Ukrainian army has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and oil depots. Fuel is now in short supply in Russia, with sales restrictions in place in several regions. According to insiders, Moscow is now trying to import petrol from Kazakhstan.

In the Czech Republic, the dispute between the right-wing populist government led by Andrej Babiš and the country's president, Petr Pavel, who comes from the pro-European opposition camp, has escalated again. The government tried to bar the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces from travelling to the Nato summit in Ankara, but Pavel appealed to the Constitutional Court and won the case. The affair prompts the press to reflect on the separation of powers.

Swaths of Europe are in the grips of a second major heatwave this year. The UK is experiencing its highest June temperatures since records began, France has reported several consecutive heat records – with the mercury hitting 40.9 degrees in Paris – and in parts of Spain and Germany, too, temperatures are well above 40 degrees, with the nights bringing little respite. How to cope with the heat – and avoid it?