European Union

EU climate commissioner says the economic data are not encouraging

Length of video : 90'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The US-Israel war against Iran and the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz are reshaping trade and transport links as well as changing regional connectivity across Eurasia. Disruptions to shipping and energy flows in the Strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas trade passes in peacetime, are prompting regional actors to seek alternatives and creating openings for new transport corridors. Turkey is moving quickly to capitalise on this shift. Ankara is presenting itself as a relatively secure hub for trade, transport, and energy, turning connectivity into an instrument of strategic autonomy and regional influence.

As maritime routes become more vulnerable and fragmentation in the Middle East deepens, Turkey is increasingly focusing on three areas: energy corridors, air connectivity, and the South Caucasus.

Reinforcing its role as an energy hub

Long central to Ankara’s ambitions, energy transit has gained renewed urgency amid recent instability in the Gulf. The Southern Gas Corridor, stretching from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to southern Europe, has become one of the few overland routes delivering non-Russian gas to the European Union. Its strategic importance has increased as alternative supply routes have become more vulnerable to disruption. 

Ankara is also placing growing emphasis on Iraq’s Development Road Project (DRP), which aims to connect energy resources from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to Europe via Iraq and Turkey. As risks to maritime shipping rise, the DRP becomes more attractive, allowing Turkey to position itself as a relatively stable and potentially indispensable trade route. 

The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline further strengthens Turkey’s position. In 2025, the pipeline transported around 207 million barrels to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and has remained one of the few export outlets not directly exposed to Gulf-related disruptions. Energy flows through Turkish territory thus enhance Ankara’s leverage.

Airspace as a strategic asset

Turkey is also consolidating its position as an aviation hub connecting Europe and Asia. With northern routes over Russia and parts of Middle Eastern airspace restricted, Turkish Airlines has expanded its network. Istanbul Airport, Europe’s busiest air hub in 2024, has emerged as a key transit point linking Europe to Central and East Asia. 

This air connectivity reinforces Turkey’s role in global mobility networks and strengthens its ties with emerging markets across Asia. The recent resumption of flights between Istanbul and Tehran, following the partial opening of airspace, revives commercial activity. It also signals a pragmatic diplomatic engagement between Ankara and Tehran despite broader regional tensions.

Expanding the South Caucasus links

The South Caucasus is becoming a critical pillar of Turkey’s connectivity strategy. Following the realignments after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, new opportunities have emerged for transport corridors linking Turkey to the Caspian and beyond. 

Direct flights between Yerevan and Istanbul restarted after six years of suspension, reconnecting Armenia to Western routes. In addition, Ankara is deepening cooperation with Azerbaijan to develop corridors that bypass both Russia and Iran, integrating the region more firmly into east-west trade networks. 

These efforts are closely tied to the so-called Middle Corridor, which connects energy and transport routes from China to Europe via Central Asia and the Caspian Sea while offering a viable alternative to the Northern Corridor through Russia. If successfully expanded, it could significantly enhance Turkey’s role as a transit country in Eurasian trade while shortening transit times and reducing risks for European supply chains.

Taken together, these initiatives reflect Turkey’s efforts to formalise its ties with regional partners through connectivity. In a context of conflict and fragmentation, Ankara is accelerating this approach, embedding itself deeply in regional networks through infrastructure, energy cooperation, and long-term economic frameworks. For Europe, this has tangible implications: The viability of alternative corridors will shape energy prices, supply-chain resilience, and trade routes in the years ahead.

Yet, Turkey’s strategy carries risks. Many of these corridors run through fragile political environments, from Iraq to the South Caucasus. Instability could just as easily derail Turkey’s ambitions as advance them, leaving European partners exposed to the very disruptions Ankara’s strategy is meant to mitigate.

Romania's biggest party, the Social Democrats (PSD), quit the government last month and joined forces with the far right

EU citizens should have more ways to get a car checked, but frequency of mandatory tests should not change, say Transport and Tourism Committee MEPs.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

EU citizens should have more ways to get a car checked, but frequency of mandatory tests should not change, say Transport and Tourism Committee MEPs.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

EU citizens should have more ways to get a car checked, but frequency of mandatory tests should not change, say Transport and Tourism Committee MEPs.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Length of video : 30'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Fostering Europe’s health agenda 09:30 – 10:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Shaping healthcare in the EU – Advancing innovation, preparedness and fair access As trade tensions rise, Europe faces growing challenges in protecting its pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors while ensuring companies remain competitive at home. With tariff hikes on the horizon, what are the implications for […]

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Diplomacy between Washington and Tehran has been deadlocked since the ceasefire

Written by Marketa Pape

While the right to housing is recognised by the European Pillar of Social Rights, the supply of housing in the EU has not kept up with demand. The recent cost-of living crisis has made the lack of adequate, affordable and sustainable housing more palpable. While the responsibility for housing provision lies with EU Member States, regions and cities, the debates around the 2024 European elections showed that citizens expected the EU to step up its action beyond guidance and funding.

In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made housing part of a Commissioner’s portfolio. In parallel, all EU institutions started work to contribute to the new EU policy.

More than a year later, the basis of a coordinated EU approach is in place. European leaders have for the first time discussed the challenge of affordable housing in the European Council. Existing EU rules have been reviewed and EU funding possibilities made more flexible.The European Investment Bank has stepped up its investment support and, together with partner banks, is finalising a pan-European housing investment portal.

The Commission has put forward the European affordable housing plan and accompanying initiatives, which included changes to State aid rules, a housing construction strategy and a proposed recommendation on the New European Bauhaus policy and funding initiative. The Commission also outlined further steps, including legislative ones.

For its part, the European Parliament has put forward a set of recommendations prepared by its Special Committee on the Housing Crisis, ranging from simpler and digital procedures for granting housing permits – within a 60-day deadline – to tax measures to support low- and middle-income households.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Developing a coordinated EU approach to housing‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

In today's edition: Ukraine loan, SAFE, energy security

In today's edition: CBAM, heat pumps, plastics

Written by Alessandro D’Alfonso, Marin Mileusnic and Tim Peters.

CONTEXT

On 16 July 2025, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities (‘performance regulation’), as part of a wide-ranging package on the next EU long-term budget – the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF). The proposal aims to simplify and harmonise how EU spending is tracked and its performance measured, moving towards a single system with standardised indicators. It defines horizontal spending principles with a view to streamlining their application across the EU budget: climate and biodiversity, ‘do no significant harm’ to the environment, social policies, and gender equality. Although competitiveness and preparedness play a major role in the next long-term budget, and the European Parliament had requested to include them as horizontal spending principles, the Commission did not include them.

Ahead of the proposal, Parliament had called for further improvements in performance reporting under the EU budget, while underlining that the ‘implementation of horizontal principles should not lead to an excessive administrative burden on beneficiaries’. A stronger performance framework can improve Parliament’s decision-making on EU spending through more transparency. However, increased transparency from a proposed single portal to access EU budgetary data will depend on what information is made available. A briefing requested by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control underlined that improved access to information – such as exchanges between the Commission and Member States, or to information about suspended milestones – was essential for public accountability. According to the European Court of Auditors, the proposal can improve processes for performance reporting and integration of EU horizontal policy priorities, but has design weaknesses to be addressed, including vague indicators, lack of clear results-based linkages, and risks of measuring implementation rather than achievements. The Court estimates that the proposal may achieve simplification between the Commission and the Member States, but that the administrative burden at national, regional and beneficiary levels may remain unchanged or even worsen.

Legislative proposal

2025/0545(COD) – Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities – COM(2025) 565,

NEXT STEPS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

For the latest developments in this legislative procedure, see the Legislative Train Schedule: 2025/0545(COD)

Read the complete briefing on ‘Budget expenditure tracking and performance framework‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Les prix flambent déjà, et beaucoup de Serbes s'attendent à des temps difficiles. Les prévisions du FMI et de la Banque mondiale sont inquiétantes et la crise touchera surtout les plus pauvres. Le blocage des taxes sur les carburants pourrait même se révéler contre-productif.

- Articles / Economie, Serbie, Radio Slobodna Evropa, Guerre Moyen Orient

In today's edition: Hormuz, NGTs, deforestation, pesticides

A January survey found 48% of students have gone without food for financial reasons and 23% do so several times a month

Also, in Tuesday’s edition: Eurogroup, 42.7, Puzder, Western Balkans, Hungary