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Following the United Kingdom's referendum on its European Union membership, in June 2016, and the UK's decision to leave the EU, a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed between the EU and the UK, in 2020. The TCA, in force since 2021, provides the framework for relations between the EU and the UK. In 2025, the European Parliament will adopt – as it did in 2023 – a report on the implementation of the TCA, this time covering the period between January and December 2024. The report will follow ...

On 11 February 2025, the European Commission adopted the first work programme (2025 CWP) of the von der Leyen II Commission. Building on the reports by Enrico Letta, Mario Draghi and Sauli Niinistö, and in line with the Commission President's political guidelines, the CWP places a strong emphasis on competitiveness, simplification and implementation, and preparedness. These will remain key horizontal priorities for the entire Commission mandate. In terms of structure, the CWP follows the seven headline ...

This study, commissioned by the European Parliamentary Research Service at the request of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, examines the implementation and enforcement of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, with particular focus on animal fitness for transport and data recording. It adopts a mixed-method approach, combining desk research, quantitative data analysis, and stakeholder consultations. The analysis indicates that key compliance challenges persist, ...

With the geopolitical situation evolving rapidly in the first months of 2025, EU leaders had already convened three times in advance of their regular March meeting. Next to competitiveness – originally due to be the central focus point – the spring European Council meeting covered issues including Ukraine, the Middle East and European defence. On competitiveness, the EU-27 outlined precise directions to accelerate the EU's economic agenda, focusing on three priorities: cutting red tape, ensuring ...

EU Heads of State or Government will hold their first discussion on the post-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) at the European Council meeting on 20-21 March 2025. Since 1988, when an interinstitutional agreement introduced the first binding MFF, the European Council has played a central role in the process leading to its adoption. In 1992, the Lisbon Treaty established a new procedure whereby the MFF would come into being through the adoption of a regulation. The European Council was not ...

The first quarter of 2025 has been a very busy one for the European Council, with EU leaders having already convened three times before their regular March meeting – once for an informal retreat on defence on 3 February, in a video-conference on 26 February and then for a special European Council meeting on 6 March. The increasingly complex geopolitical situation, as well as the current strains on the transatlantic relationship, make the regular March meeting a crucial one. According to the Leaders ...

The repeated crises of recent years, including the COVID pandemic and the Russian war on Ukraine, have disrupted trade relations in many ways. Competition on global markets has become fiercer and the rules-based multilateral order established after World War II is increasingly challenged. The tariffs imposed by the new United States (US) administration are adding to the uncertainty. Trade in goods and services accounts for 22.4 % of EU GDP – the EU is the world's biggest trading bloc and top trading ...

On 1 December 2024, António Costa became the fourth President of the European Council. He was a long-time prime minister of Portugal (2015-2024) and, before that, a Member of the European Parliament (2004-2005). With nearly a decade of experience as a member of the European Council, he hit the ground running at the start of his term, consolidating his acquaintance with EU leaders, adjusting the European Council's working methods and improving EU interinstitutional relations. As the office of European ...

In a context of high uncertainty on the future of European security, EU leaders held a special European Council meeting on 6 March 2025 to discuss common action aimed at enhancing Europe's sovereignty in the field of defence as well as to reiterate their unwavering support to Ukraine in light of the latest developments. The EU-27 took significant steps to accelerate defence preparedness, agreeing in particular on new instruments to finance defence investment at multiple levels. Regarding Ukraine, ...

This briefing analyses the participation of women in local and regional government from a multilevel governance perspective. It seeks to present the current state of affairs and identify best practice and ideas for the future on the part of governmental organisations at all levels of the European system of multilevel governance.