European Union

Thursday 11 September

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Writtten by Anna Caprile and Tim Peters with Ana Luisa Melo Almeida.

One of the first, and boldest, measures taken by Western countries as a response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was the immobilisation of the Russian central bank assets held under their jurisdictions, the value of which could be around €300 billion worldwide, according to recent estimations.

As the war is well into its fourth year, the debate on how to use the immobilised assets to sustain Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts – a cost estimated at US$524 billion – has evolved. A growing number of international legal experts and prominent political figures have defended the lawfulness of confiscating Russian central bank assets to sustain Ukraine, both for financing reconstruction efforts and military expenses, despite these assets being protected by state immunity. However, opinions among legal scholars differ significantly, as do the positions of the governments in whose countries these assets are held.

G7 countries reached an agreement in October 2024 on using the extraordinary revenues generated by those assets to service and repay a US$50 billion G7 loan to Ukraine, while the complex debate on the legality and related risks on the use of the principal capital continues. In the absence of a clear precedent or an uncontested legal basis, political considerations, such as US policy shifts, and calculations over the economic and financial risks incurred will play a decisive role in this debate. Notably, this subject was on the agenda, for the first time, of the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen on 29-30 August 2025.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Confiscation of immobilised Russian sovereign assets: State of play, arguments and scenarios‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Frozen Russian Assets

MEPs want a bigger stand-alone post-2027 agriculture budget, with less red tape for farmers and incentives to achieve environmental and social objectives.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

MEPs want a bigger stand-alone post-2027 agriculture budget, with less red tape for farmers and incentives to achieve environmental and social objectives.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Wednesday, Parliament has given its final green light to changes in EU cohesion and social funding in response to new challenges and EU priorities.
Committee on Regional Development

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Wednesday, Parliament has given its final green light to changes in EU cohesion and social funding in response to new challenges and EU priorities.
Committee on Regional Development

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In the annual State of the European Union debate, MEPs quizzed President von der Leyen on the Commission’s work since the beginning of its new mandate and its upcoming plans.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In the annual State of the European Union debate, MEPs quizzed President von der Leyen on the Commission’s work since the beginning of its new mandate and its upcoming plans.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The changes to the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) are part of simplification efforts to reduce the administrative burden for SMEs and occasional importers.
Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The changes to the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) are part of simplification efforts to reduce the administrative burden for SMEs and occasional importers.
Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

L'Éthiopie s'apprête a inauguré un méga barrage qui a attisé les tensions avec l'Égypte.

Positive Group v Council
Common foreign and security policy
War in Ukraine: the General Court upholds the restrictive measures against Positive Group PAO, an entity operating in the Russian IT sector with a license issued by Russia’s domestic intelligence services

Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission
Approximation of laws
Digital Services Act: the General Court annuls the Commission’s decisions setting the supervisory fee applicable to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

Austria v Commission
Austria’s action against the inclusion of nuclear energy and fossil gas in the sustainable investment scheme dismissed

Written by Krisztina Binder with Joris Bol.

The European Universities initiative helps establish transnational alliances between higher education institutions to develop long-term structural, sustainable and systemic cooperation in education, with synergies with research and innovation. The initiative aims to promote European values and identity and support higher education institutions in enhancing their attractiveness and international competitiveness. As of January 2025, the European Universities initiative, launched in 2019, includes 65 alliances from 35 countries, including all European Union Member States. Together, the alliances comprise more than 570 higher education institutions and collectively provide education to more than 11 million students.

The deep institutional transnational cooperation within these alliances offers multiple advantages for students, staff members, the partner higher education institutions, the wider higher education system, and external stakeholders. These include, for instance, a wide variety of learning, professional development, mobility, and networking opportunities for students, academics, researchers, and staff. To drive even more ambitious cooperation within alliances, further action and closer cooperation between institutional, national, and European levels is necessary.

On 24 June 2025, the European Parliament’s Committee on Education and Culture adopted a report on the European Universities alliances. The report noted that the initiative surpassed anticipated levels of participation and underlined the alliances’ impact in driving transformation in higher education. It stressed the need for coordinated, sustainable and predictable funding for existing alliances and that the EU’s next long-term budget should reflect the strategic vision for the alliances.

Read the complete briefing on ‘European Universities alliances – a model of strengthened cooperation‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Wednesday 10 September

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Wednesday 10 September

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Le Sénégal maitrise la RDC à Kinshasa. Les Lions de la Téranga ont réalisé un come back face à la République démocratique du Congo (2-3) et prennent la tête du groupe B à deux journées de la fin des éliminatoires.

Sébastien Lecornu has been serving until now as France's defence minister and has been floated as a potential name to head the government before

It was hoped that the financial urgency would bypass tedious political debate. But deciding a budget is an inherently political problem