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This EPRS paper analyses how the European Commission is delivering on the policy agenda set by its President, Ursula von der Leyen, and her College of Commissioners since taking office in December 2024. It provides an initial assessment of the delivery of the agenda's seven priorities as of spring 2026. The von der Leyen II Commission has set seven priorities – different from the six priorities of her first mandate. It has so far announced close to 400 initiatives. Half of these initiatives fall ...

The EU4Health, the EU's largest ever health programme in monetary terms, running from 2021 until 2027, has a dedicated budget, specific objectives and includes the possible eligible actions. The interim evaluation of the Programme found that it has invested significantly to directly support health promotion and disease prevention. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the importance and the potential of the EU health policy, leading to the adoption of the EU4Health Regulation and the Health Union package ...

This briefing provides an overview of the economic, financial, and monetary implications of US tariffs for the EU over the past year, as of the cut-off date of 25 February 2026. Given the high level of uncertainty, the analysis presented assumes a continued implementation of the EU-US framework agreement. The briefing and the analysis presented were prepared prior to the recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, and therefore do not take into account any subsequent market volatility or change in ...

The EU has made closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) a priority in its education, research and employment policies. This answers to legal requirements to pursue gender equality through any EU action, as well as to practical imperatives to address a shortage of specialists that limits the EU's ability to compete in the global technological race. Moreover, existing data show that many young women today have strong maths and science skills but are still largely ...

New digital technologies are a mixed blessing for women's rights and representation in the information sphere in general, and in the democratic debate in particular. Innovative digital tools often promise to make public debates more inclusive, for women too. In practice, recent AI-enabled technology – including deepfake tools – appears to facilitate an increasingly hostile information environment for women, with repercussions for their democratic participation both online and offline. At the same ...

In February 2026, two and a half years after the European Commission's proposal, trilogues started on a new regulation on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM). The proposal, put forward on 5 July 2023, would replace 10 of the 12 PRM directives that currently lay down the rules for seeds, tubers, cuttings, seedlings and young plants. It would introduce sustainability requirements for registering new varieties of agricultural plants, vegetables and fruits intended for professional ...

On 16 July 2025, the European Commission adopted its proposal for the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF), which was completed on 3 September with the adoption of a second package. The own resources part of the proposal is intended to equip the EU with a diversified revenue stream and sufficient means for delivering on EU priorities, as well as for the repayment of the debt created by Next Generation EU.

The own-initiative report on copyright and artificial intelligence (AI) calls for the respect of existing rules and the adoption of new rules that require AI developers to be fully transparent about their use of copyrighted works, fairly remunerate rights-holders, and allow rights-holders to control such use. It also supports a collective licensing framework to ensure lawful access to high-quality training data while safeguarding effective enforcement in the EU. Parliament is expected to vote on ...

At a time of geopolitical instability, merit-based enlargement is seen as one of the EU's strongest foreign-policy and geopolitical tools and a key driver of long-term security, peace, stability and prosperity in Europe. A plenary debate on Parliament's report on the EU's enlargement strategy is due to be held in March 2026.

During the March I plenary session, the European Parliament is set to vote on a new interinstitutional agreement on its relations with the European Commission. The new framework agreement would reinforce Parliament's position, in particular with regard to its scrutiny powers, including in the area of international agreements.