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This EPRS paper analyses progress made in carrying through the policy agenda set by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and her College of Commissioners when they took office in December 2019. It looks in particular at the state of play with respect to delivery of the agenda's six key priorities, as we enter the final year running up to the 2024 European elections. The von der Leyen Commission – either on taking office or more recently – has announced a total of 597 planned ...

Public financing of enterprises, which has been on the rise globally, can have a distortive effect on competitive markets. In response to this trend, in May 2021 the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation to tackle foreign subsidies with a distortive effect on the EU single market. It would enable the Commission to investigate subsidies granted by non-EU public authorities to companies operating on the single market, and to apply countervailing measures, should these subsidies ...

Ukraine and its Western allies say Moscow is waging an unprovoked war of conquest that has destroyed Ukrainian cities, killed thousands of people and forced millions more to flee their homes. As Russian troops push forward in waves with a new offensive in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine are locked in the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War II. Ukraine has been urging its allies in the EU and the US to increase the delivery of weapons as it is running out of ...

In 2022, the Human Rights Subcommittee decided to prepare a Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on how to respond to undemocratic elections by strengthening the human right to participate in public affairs. On 25 January 2023, a Workshop was organised on behalf of the Human Rights Subcommittee to discuss the challenge of elections in authoritarian countries from a human rights perspective. It focused on authoritarian ...

Outraged by Russia's illegal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, European Union countries swiftly adopted unprecedentedly tough sanctions, in close cooperation with partners including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan. The rapid succession of ten packages of EU sanctions adopted since then, in what has already been labelled a 'sanctions revolution', have resulted in an unparalleled set of measures targeting the key sectors of the Russian ...

Transatlantic ties have seen a considerable boost since Joe Biden became the 46th US President in 2021, with the US re-embracing multilateralism to varying degrees as a means to tackle multiple crises such as climate change, global food insecurity, strategic competition with China, and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. However, challenges in the transatlantic relationship have remained, as the EU and the US have chosen different means to achieve their climate change targets, to address ...

The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is an integral part of the 2020 EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and was designed to avoid the need for a hard border on the island of Ireland. Implementation of the Protocol has been marred by rising tensions and political challenges, and both parties, particularly since Rishi Sunak became UK Prime Minister, have sought to address the main problems. The new agreement, called the Windsor Framework, seeks to improve the trading rules for Northern Ireland, bring stability ...

The EU–Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), in force since 1999, sets the framework for bilateral relations. Azerbaijan, considered an authoritarian regime, is an important energy supplier to the EU. Recently, the EU has boosted its role as a mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The European Parliament is due to discuss an own-initiative report on EU-Azerbaijan relations during the March I plenary session.

Bilateral relations between the European Union and Armenia are based on the EU–Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in force since March 2021. The EU is an important trade and assistance partner for Armenia and has been an active mediator in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In February 2023, the EU launched a civilian EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA), signalling a growing role for the EU amidst Russia's waning influence in the South Caucasus. The European Parliament ...

Ongoing global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis, climate change and war are spotlighting perennial obstacles to gender equality, as well as the importance and potential of gender-sensitive policies. As part of their commitment to human rights, sustainable development and democracy, the European Parliament and the US Congress have committed to advance women's rights and gender equality in their internal and external policy-making in an array of sectors.