This report, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Justice, Civil Liberties and Institutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), examines the use of AI techniques to support monitoring the application of EU Law. First an overview is provided of the state-of-the-art AI solutions used in application of law. Then AI applications in the legislative process are considered, from pre-enactment information analysis, impact forecasting and public engagement, to drafting support and monitoring impacts and compliance. AI in monitoring the implementation of EU law is then analysed, considering both existing applications and prospects for new AI technologies. First the transposition of directives is considered. The application of binding provisions is then addressed, having regard to implementing rules, judicial decisions, administrative action, and social behaviour. Finally potential contributions of AI to a principled approach to EU law is examined, for consistent interpretation and the respect of fundamental rights and principles. Recommendations are finally proposed on using AI to make monitoring more accurate and efficient.). Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), adopted in June 2024, is the world’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for AI. It sits at the centre of the EU’s broader digital rulebook, alongside the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Act, the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), and the NIS2 Directive. Together, these laws aim to promote safety, trust, and competitiveness in Europe’s digital economy. However, questions arise about how they interact and whether their combined effect strengthens or burdens the EU’s AI ecosystem. The full study examines how the AI Act interrelates with other EU digital instruments and how their cumulative obligations affect innovation, coherence, and competitiveness in Europe’s AI market.This AAG was prepared at the request of the ITRE Committee. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This paper presents findings from the European Parliament’s public consultation on women’s health in the EU. It covers a wide range of topics including care, education, workplace impact, information, and policy context. The results reflect the views of a selected population and offer exploratory insights into perceived gaps and priorities. This document was prepared at Erasmus MC by the Department of Public Health in collaboration with The Netherlands Women's Health Research & Innovation Center at the request of the European Parliament’s Committee on Public Health (SANT). Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This study explores how the AI Act relates to various other crucial pieces of EU digital legislation, such as the GDPR, the Data Act and the Cyber Resilience Act. It assesses overlaps and gaps between these acts, and shows that, while each of them is individually well targeted, their interplay creates significant regulatory complexity. Finally, it also provides reflections and suggestions for possible evolutions of the AI Act, and of EU digital legislation as a whole, keeping in mind the objective of ensuring that Europe can establish a competitive AI industry. This study was prepared at the request of the ITRE Committee. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This briefing has been prepared for the public hearing with the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB), Dominique Laboureix, scheduled for 5 November 2025 in the ECON Committee. Content: 1. The SRB’s simplification agenda 2. A more branch-based Banking Union: opportunities and challenges ahead 3. Liquidity in resolution 4. Further lessons from the Credit Suisse AT1 bail-in? 5. Guidance for communication by banks 6. Guidance on resolvability testing 7. Guidance on separability 8. Guidance on resolvability self-assessments Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Chile will hold presidential and congressional elections on 16 November 2025, with a possible runoff between the two best placed presidential candidates on 14 December, if no candidate secures the absolute majority in the first round. The two most promising candidates according to the latest polls are Jeannette Jara, from the Communist Party, and far-right candidate José Antonio Kast from the Republican Party. Crime and immigration are among the top issues that dominate the election campaign, even though Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Since the Estallido Social, the 2019 2020 social uprising, which brought left-wing incumbent Gabriel Boric to the presidency in 2022, there has been a trend of polarisation in Chilean politics. The 2021 elections resulted in a highly fragmented and diverse Congress with no coalition winning a clear majority of seats. From the EU perspective, in particular because of its rich natural resources and critical raw materials, Chile will be of strategic importance in the years to come. The recently signed Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) between the EU and Chile (provisional application as from 1 June 2025), including the Interim Trade Agreement (ITA), which entered into force on 1 February 2025, are important instruments to realise the potential of the EU-Chile partnership. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Rome, Member States’ agricultural policies were replaced by intervention mechanisms at Community level. The foundations of the common agricultural policy (CAP) have remained unchanged since the Treaty of Rome, with the exception of rules relating to the decision-making procedure. The Treaty of Lisbon recognised codecision as the ‘ordinary legislative procedure’ for the CAP, in place of the consultation procedure. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The European Commission has proposed a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework for the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to track horizontal principles and performance in the EU budget. Part of this framework aims at monitoring gender equality through a gender budgeting methodology. The methodology proposed is a continuation of the one currently used with one difference: the score 0* has been removed. Within the framework, the Commission added a specific list of programmes with gender equality as principal objective (‘gender equality score 2’). Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Council Directive 2011/64/EU, known as the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD), entered into force in 2011 with two main objectives: to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and provide a high level of public health protection. More than ten years after its adoption, the directive is no longer fit for purpose. The European Commission's 2020 evaluation highlights several key issues regarding the TTD's effectiveness, and recommends updating it to address emerging tobacco products, such as e cigarettes. As part of the EU's Beating Cancer Plan, the Commission suggested revising the TTD to achieve the target of a tobacco-free generation by 2040. In July 2025, the Commission presented its proposal for a revision of the TTD, focusing on three main aspects: i) increasing the EU's minimum tax rate to address disparities between Member States; ii) extending the directive's scope to new products, such as e cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, which would make them subject to new minimum taxes; and iii) strengthening controls on raw tobacco to prevent diversion to illicit markets. This implementation appraisal (IA) analyses the existing legal framework and outlines its core components. It also examines the key findings of the 2020 evaluation and the main features of the Commission proposal for revision of the TTD. Finally, it considers the European Parliament's position, the written questions submitted by its Members and the views of a sample of relevant stakeholders, including institutional bodies. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

At no point in more than 30 years have Armenia and Azerbaijan been closer to achieving lasting peace, and yet the so far bumpy road to peace continues to appear vulnerable to domestic and external factors. On 8 August 2025, in Washington DC, the leaders of both countries signed a Joint Declaration committing to achieve peace and initialled a 17-article peace agreement, the product of months of closed-doors and exclusively bilateral negotiations between the two countries. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in conflict over Nagorno Karabakh since the end of the Cold War, in the longest-running conflict in the post-Soviet space. Two bloody war episodes, in the 1990s and in 2020, have alternated with periods of frozen conflict over three decades, leaving behind more than 30 000 casualties, over a million displaced people from both sides, and a long list of seemingly inextricable mutual grievances running deep in both countries' societies. Decades of international mediation, within the OSCE Minsk group, then in parallel strands under the aegis of Russia, the EU and the US, ended abruptly in September 2023, with Azerbaijan's lightning military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, leading within days to the dissolution of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and to the forced exodus of some 100 000 ethnic Armenians. In the dangerous security vacuum created after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which altered the power balance in the region and discredited the role of Russia as security guarantor and peace broker, fears over a third war intensified. Against all odds, after months of exclusively bilateral negotiations, both parties announced in March 2025 that they had agreed on a draft peace treaty, establishing the basis for future peaceful mutual relations but leaving aside contentious issues, such as border delimitation and connectivity. However, the announcement came with Azerbaijan's precondition, ahead of the final signature, of removing from the preamble of the Armenian constitution a reference that Azerbaijan considered to be an implicit territorial claim. The seemingly impossible task for Armenia, where a constitutional change must be approved by popular referendum, appeared to put the peace process in limbo sine die. The 8 August Washington Summit gave a decisive new impetus to the process, although Azerbaijan maintains its precondition regarding what it sees as necessary changes to the Armenian constitution. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This study investigates the integration and effects of artificial intelligence and algorithmic management (AM) technologies within European workplaces, extending beyond the realm of platform work. It thoroughly examines the European regulatory framework for the use of AM technologies, engages in stakeholder interviews, and analyses case studies within the logistics, healthcare, telecoms, automotive and manufacturing sectors, revealing notable gaps in worker protection and regulatory oversight. The study estimates that exposure to AM could rise from 42.3 % to 55.5 % in the medium term, generating productivity opportunities but also challenges in employment relations, working conditions and workers' wellbeing. It identifies key regulatory gaps in AM use at work, and explores the role EU legislation could play both in addressing the gaps and in guaranteeing responsible use of AM in the workplace. It develops three policy options: adopting a recommendation; amending a package of existing legislation; and adopting a new legislative instrument to regulate the use of AM. The added value of acting at EU level has been identified in ensuring the same level of protection for all workers, improving working conditions and safeguarding fundamental rights. For companies, having a common set of rules would enhance the level playing field and increase legal certainty. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In this paper, we propose a multistep algorithmic method that enables us to determine the seat allocation for the European Parliament on a permanent basis applicable across various scenarios, including different numbers of Member States and their population sizes. According to the Lisbon Treaty, the allocation of seats must take into account a number of constraints regarding the minimum and maximum number of seats allocated to each Member State, the maximum size of the European Parliament, and degressive proportionality. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This briefing outlines recent and past developments concerning Romania's fiscal situation and the steps taken under the Excessive Deficit Procedure. On 4 June 2025, the Commission issued a recommendation stating that Romania had failed to take effective corrective action. The Council adopted a decision in this regard on 20 June. In July 2025, the Council required Romania to present measures by 15 October 2025; Romania has since adopted two fiscal packages. Because of the June Council decision, the Commission would be obliged to propose the suspension of payments or commitments under the ESI Funds and the RRF. This briefing reviews Romania's macroeconomic and fiscal situation (Section 1), EDP developments including fiscal packages adopted (Section 2), Country-Specific Recommendations (Section 3), EU funds at stake (Section 4), the legal framework for suspensions (Section 5), and the role of the European Parliament with lessons from the 2016 Spain-Portugal precedent (Section 6). Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The United States (US) Defense Industrial Base (DIB) is the world's largest, comprising over 60 000 companies and 1.17 million employees. It is dominated by five major corporations – Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics, Boeing and Northrop Grumman – which together account for around one third of US Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and half of the revenue of the top 100 defence companies in the world. While the DIB sustains US technological dominance, it faces challenges linked to market consolidation, supply chain resilience and workforce shortages. The 2023 Biden administration's National Defense Industrial Strategy seeks to address these issues, among other things, through enhanced supply chain resilience, workforce development and flexible acquisition. However, experts expect vast changes, including for the DIB, in strategy under the new Trump administration's national defence strategy that is currently being developed. By contrast, the European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB) remains fragmented, and has been under-invested in for decades. In 2024, EU defence spending reached €343 billion, roughly 2.5 times less than the US level (around €864 billion in 2024), with a large part of procurement sourced from the US. The 2024 European defence industrial strategy and the European defence industry programme aim to strengthen European defence industrial sovereignty, promote collaborative procurement, and emphasise a 'Buy European' approach. The European Parliament supports close EU–US cooperation but insists that EU programmes must primarily reinforce the EDTIB and increase strategic autonomy.  Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

As the second pillar of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the EU’s rural development policy is designed to support its rural areas and meet the wide range of economic, environmental and societal challenges they face. Greater flexibility (in comparison with the first pillar) enables regional, national and local authorities to formulate their rural development support schemes based on a ‘menu’ of EU-wide measures. Unlike the first pillar, which is entirely financed by the EU, second-pillar programmes are co-financed by EU funds and regional or national funds. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy is part of the European Union’s Green Deal, which aims to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. The F2F Strategy is a policy framework setting out policy goals and initiatives designed to make the European Union’s food system more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The strategy comprises both regulatory and non-regulatory initiatives, with the common agricultural and fisheries policies as key tools to support a just transition. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In October 2025, for the first time in its history, Japan elected a female prime minister. Takaichi Sanae won the race for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and was later elected by both chambers of the National Diet (Japan's parliament). She will lead a minority government, formed in a new coalition with the right-leaning Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), after Kōmeitō ended its 26-year alliance with the LDP. Takaichi, known for her hardline stance, will face numerous challenges in her new role. She must focus on rebuilding public trust in politics, especially after her party's involvement in a slush-fund scandal, and navigate a fractured political landscape to pass crucial legislation. The government must address the Japanese public's main concerns, such as inflation and declining real wages. The task is complicated by modest growth (about 1 % of GDP) and high gross government debt (about 230 % of GDP), all against the backdrop of acute demographic crisis. Takaichi aims to implement an expansionary fiscal policy and limit the Bank of Japan's autonomy on monetary policy. Japan currently finds itself in a complex geopolitical environment, surrounded by authoritarian and nuclear-armed neighbours. The United States (US) – Japan alliance remains a cornerstone of Tokyo's foreign policy, but it has faced challenges under US President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to visit Japan in late October 2025. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In this paper, we propose a multistep algorithmic method that enables us to determine the seat allocation for the European Parliament on a permanent basis applicable across various scenarios, including different numbers of Member States and their population sizes. According to the Lisbon Treaty, the allocation of seats must take into account a number of constraints regarding the minimum and maximum number of seats allocated to each Member State, the maximum size of the European Parliament, and degressive proportionality. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In line with the Erasmus+ Regulation for 2021-2027, the European Commission conducted an evaluation covering Erasmus+ actions for the period 2014-2023. It comprises both an interim evaluation of the current 2021-2027 programme and a final evaluation of the 2014-2020 programme. Across both programme generations, the evaluation found that Erasmus+ delivered significant European added value, performing well against key evaluation criteria and effectively achieving its objectives. It yielded substantial benefits for individuals, organisations and the wider education, training, youth and sport sectors, providing opportunities for personal, educational and professional growth of learners and staff, for cross-border cooperation among organisations and for policy development. Erasmus+ funded learning mobility abroad for over 6.2 million participants in 2014-2020 and around 1.6 million in 2021-2023. The share of participants with fewer opportunities increased from around 10 % in 2014-2020 to around 15 % in 2023. Furthermore, Erasmus+ provided funding to over 136 000 distinct organisations in the 2014-2020 programme and more than 77 000 from 2021 to 2023. For most programme actions, demand for funding exceeded the available resources in both programming periods. The evaluation also highlighted areas for improvement to inform and support enhancements to the programme, such as reinforcing its inclusivity and accessibility, building greater synergies with other EU programmes, and widening international cooperation. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The European Union's fisheries and aquaculture sector contributes about €5.5 billion per year to the EU economy and provides direct employment to around 193 000 fishers and aquaculture farmers across Europe. European fisheries statistics (EFS) have been collected since 1950 and provide official EU-wide data on fleet size and structure, catches, landings and aquaculture production. Statistical data are also used by the EU Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture to fulfil EU reporting obligations to international bodies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and regional fisheries management organisations. Fisheries statistics are regulated by five separate regulations adopted between 2006 and 2009, which are largely recasts of 1990s legal acts. Together, these acts constitute the EFS framework. However, the European Commission's 2019 evaluation identified a number of key shortcomings and concluded that the existing legal framework is outdated, inflexible, and no longer meets the needs of policy makers and users. These findings, together with successive reforms of the common fisheries policy and the emergence of new EU data sources under the Control Regulation and the EU data collection framework, led the Commission to propose a new European fisheries and aquaculture statistics regulation on 30 July 2025. This implementation appraisal outlines the existing EFS framework, reviews and summarises the main findings of the 2019 Commission evaluation and its impact assessment, and identifies how the main findings of the evaluation and impact assessment are addressed in the proposed new regulation. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Croatia's national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP) is an ambitious outline of reforms and investment designed to mitigate the pandemic's socioeconomic fallout and to address the consequences of the two devastating earthquakes of 2020. Following the December 2023 amendment of the Croatian NRRP, to which a REPowerEU chapter was added, the plan's worth reached €10 040.7 million (or 18.5 % of national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019). The amended plan comes with a grant allocation of €5 779.4 million and a loan allocation of €4 254.2 million (of which more than 62 % is for the REPowerEU chapter). The grant part includes the country's REPowerEU grant allocation of €269 million and the €7.2 million transfer from Croatia's share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. In June 2025, the Council approved the second revision of the plan; the subsequent request to amend the NRRP was sent to the European Commission in October 2025. So far, Croatia has received €5 322.9 million of Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) resources (53 % of the amended NRRP) in the form of pre financing, six grant and two loan instalments. The disbursements are below the current EU average of 56.4 %. The seventh payment request (grants and loans) is under assessment by the Commission. The plan focuses on the green transition by devoting 38.6 % of the resources to it. It also fosters the digital transformation by committing 20.2 % of the funds (excluding the REPowerEU chapter) to digital projects. In the context of the 2025 European Semester, the Council recommended that Croatia accelerate the implementation of its NRRP. The European Parliament continues to ensure transparency and accountability through interinstitutional dialogues on RRF implementation, and scrutiny of the Commission's work. This briefing is one in a series covering all EU Member States. Fifth edition. The 'NGEU delivery' briefings are updated at key stages throughout the lifecycle of the plans. The author would like to thank Amalia Fumagalli, trainee in the Next Generation EU Monitoring Service, for her research assistance. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Dieses Dokument ist Teil einer Reihe von Studien, mit denen das Prinzip des Umweltschutzes in verschiedenen Rechtsordnungen aus rechtsvergleichender Perspektive dargestellt werden soll. Nach einer kurzen historischen Einleitung und der Darstellung der einschlägigen Rechtsvorschriften und Rechtsprechung werden der Inhalt, die Grenzen und die mögliche Entwicklung dieser Freiheit analysiert. Die vorliegende Studie hat den Fall Deutschland zum Gegenstand. Hier sind Rechtsvorschriften zum Umweltschutz seit dem 19. Jahrhundert, d.h. weit vor dem Konzept des „Umweltschutzes“ entstanden. Von einzelnen Normen des Denkmalschutz, Naturschutz-, Immissionsschutz- und Wasserrechts aus entwickelten sich nach dem 2. Weltkrieg große umweltrechtliche Kodifikationen wie das Wasserhaushaltsgesetz und das Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz (die Gesamtkodifikation in einem Umweltgesetzbuch scheiterte 2009). Europäisierung und neue Bereiche wie Boden- und Klimaschutzrecht ließen das deutsche Umweltrecht weiter wachsen und machen es omnipräsent in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. In den 1990er Jahren traten in Bund und Ländern verfassungsrechtliche Regelungen hinzu, die Umweltschutz zum Staatsziel machten, aber lange keine große Wirkung zeigten. Hinter der Vielfalt der umweltrechtlichen Regelungen steht nach wie vor prägend das Vorsorgeprinzip. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Russia's escalating hybrid attacks, including drone incursions, have prompted NATO's Operation Eastern Sentry and the European Union's (EU) plans for a European Drone Wall and Eastern Flank Watch. These initiatives aim to strengthen eastern defences but face disputes over cost, feasibility and strategic focus. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have welcomed the initiatives. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), exposes the adverse effect of legislative complexity to the application of EU law, and advocates the reform of the monitoring of the application of EU law to embrace a qualitative, in depth evaluation of complexity, as a contributor of legislative effectiveness of EU Acts and implementing measures for all three legislative audiences (citizens, Member States and national authorities, and EU institutions). Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This European implementation assessment (EIA) aims to inform the ongoing work of the European Parliament's Committee on Public Health (SANT) on its own-initiative implementation report (2025/2139(INI)) on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP). The assessment is composed of two parts. The first part is an introduction by the European Parliamentary Research Service that focuses on Parliament's role in cancer control action plans and cancer policies. It also describes the structure, governance framework and funding mechanisms of the EBCP. The second part of this EIA is a study undertaken by a team of external experts that assesses the implementation of the EBCP across all EU Member States between 2021 and 2024. The analysis focuses on three core areas: (i) gaps and delays in implementation of the EBCP, particularly in prevention, cancer care, and quality of life; (ii) the EBCP's impact on cancer inequalities across the EU; and (iii) lessons learned and their applicability to future EU initiatives on non-communicable diseases. Drawing on desk research, stakeholder interviews, and eight country case studies, the study identifies key challenges and opportunities for strengthening EU health governance. It concludes with a set of recommendations to improve coordination, embed equity, and ensure sustainable progress in cancer prevention and control. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The CONT Committee organised a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the Budgetary Treaty of Brussels. The event, held on 24 September 2025, reflected on the history and evolution of the Treaty, highlighting key developments over the past 50 years (1975-2025). It also examined the future challenges of parliamentary scrutiny and budgetary control. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This briefing provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the current 10th parliamentary term (2024-2029) who had held public office at local, regional and/or national level before taking up their mandates (or, in some cases, continue to hold sub-national level public posts). The analysis found that 64 % of MEPs had previously held public office at one or more of these levels before the current term. Their roles included mayors, city councillors, members of regional assemblies, regional ministers, members of national parliaments, national ministers and prime ministers. Specifically, 41 % of MEPs had held office at national level, 37 % at local level and 24 % at regional level. Notably, 23 % had served at two levels of government and 7 % at all three. The average duration of prior experience in these roles is significant: 10 years at local level, 7 years and 8 months at regional level, and 8 years and 5 months at national level. These figures are broadly consistent with those from the 9th parliamentary term (2019-2024), both in the proportion of MEPs with prior office-holding experience and the duration of that experience, which suggests continuity in Parliament's institutional profile. In terms of gender patterns, a higher share of male than female MEPs had held office across all three levels. The gap was relatively small at local and regional level but wider at national level, where 44 % of men had prior experience compared with 35 % of women. Finally, the briefing examines how the share of MEPs with prior office-holding experience varies across parliamentary committees – in which they serve as full members – highlighting variations by policy area and level of government. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The European Union controls the export of dual-use items and technologies that can be utilised for both civilian and military purposes. This stems from international obligations to counter the proliferation of items with potential military use. Entities planning to export these items need to obtain authorisation. These controls are administered and enforced at Member State level. Current Regulation (EU) 2021/821 sets common rules on the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. Annex I to the regulation, based on internationally agreed controls, lists the dual-use items requiring export authorisation. The Commission periodically amends the list of dual-use items through a simplified delegated regulation. Apart from this annex, which is binding in all EU Member States, the Commission publishes two other lists of export control measures to be taken by Member States. This parallel system means that the EU lacks a uniform, timely and effective control framework, required more than ever during these times of war on Europe's borders. At the same time, evidence shows that Western dual-use items are still feeding Russia's war machine, and the aggressor is hampering expansion of the scope of multilateral non-proliferation agreements. These factors led the Commission to include in its 2025 Annex I update items Russia prevents from being controlled multilaterally. Many experts consider this move an indication that the EU is consolidating powers in export controls to overcome this obstruction. The European Parliament has until 8 November 2025 to raise any objections to the new annex. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

State of play - 10th legislative term, as of October 2025 This document provides an overview of the European Parliament’s committee-level Economic Dialogues with other institutions of the European Union under the European Semester for economic policy coordination. It also lists the Recovery and Resilience Dialogues with the European Commission as undertaken by the competent committee(s) since the start of the current legislative term in June 2024, and includes an overview of the respective legal bases. During the 10th legislative term, the competent committees have so far held 5 Recovery and Resilience Dialogues and 3 Economic Dialogues with the European Commission, 3 Economic Dialogues with the Council, and 1 Economic Dialogue with the Eurogroup. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

This study reviews the current framework to protect democracy in the EU in view of the forthcoming European Democracy Shield. It provides a comprehensive map of the existing instruments, while identifying and assessing outstanding policy challenges, regulatory gaps and implementation issues. The study also formulates recommendations to strengthen democratic resilience. The study was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Justice, Civil Liberties and Institutional Affairs at the request of the EUDS Special Committee Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

To raise awareness of the many forms of trafficking in human beings and to boost efforts to address them, the European Union has set 18 October as EU Anti-trafficking Day. Marking the day is an opportunity to highlight the European Parliament's call to step up action against trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, which is now broadly recognised as a significant problem across the EU, affecting both EU and non-EU citizens. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

As part of the EU's long-term budget for the 2028-2034 period, the European Commission did not present a separate fund to support the common fisheries policy (CFP). Instead, as part of a redesign of the EU's long-term budget, support for fisheries, aquaculture and ocean-related activities would be integrated into a single, larger fund that also covers other areas, such as cohesion and agriculture. Consequently, rather than launching a legislative proposal to establish the successor to the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) of the 2021-2027 programming period, the Commission published a shorter, sectoral proposal outlining specific conditions for funding in support of the CFP, the ocean pact and the EU's maritime and aquaculture policy. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) was establised in 2021 to put Europe’s ambition on cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for patients and survivors into practice. It consists of ten flagship initiatives, each supported by EU-funded projects, most of which have already concluded. The EBCP has established important foundations by creating networks, mapping inequalities, and investing in knowledge centres. These achievements now provide a basis to advance cancer research, improve care delivery, and make better use of existing tools. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Increased political polarisation has led to a proliferation of attacks against elected representatives, political candidates and party members. Verbal abuse and insults, harassment, threats and intimidation, as well as smear campaigns against politicians, occur regularly both online and offline, marking a serious degradation in the quality of political debate in the EU. During the 2024 European elections campaign, there were serious incidents in several countries. Nevertheless, acts of physical violence remain isolated and less frequent in the EU than in many other parts of the world. Violence is a risk to which politicians have always been exposed, including in democratic regimes. Organised crime and radicalised individuals or groups resort to violence to promote their political or economic agendas. EU countries have been unevenly affected; violence linked to organised crime has particularly affected certain regions, especially southern Italy, where it has proven difficult to eradicate. By contrast, violence driven by political radicalisation is a more recent phenomenon and increasingly affects all EU countries – albeit to varying degrees – and tends to flare up during periods of heightened tension, such as election campaigns and large-scale public protests. The impact on political debate, free exchange of opinions and compromise-building is profoundly negative. Violence and intimidation pressure politicians to self-censor when addressing politically sensitive issues and, in some cases, to step out of politics altogether. To counter this, several EU countries have adopted preventive and protective measures, including regular data collection. Examples include classifying offences against elected representatives as aggravated offences, simplifying reporting, and providing training, counselling and emergency assistance. Parliaments have also promoted civility and mutual respect in debates through codes of conduct and have established support services such as legal aid, psychological counselling and security assistance. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The European Commission's interim evaluation of the current (2021 2027) European Solidarity Corps programme affirms the programme's success in fostering youth engagement, social cohesion and solidarity across Europe. The evaluation confirms that the programme effectively promotes inclusion, diversity and democratic participation while strengthening European identity and values. However, it also finds that the programme lacks sufficient funds. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP