European Union

In response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the European Union (EU) has adopted 19 sanctions packages against Russia in close coordination with its Group of Seven partners. As part of these measures, the EU has immobilised around EUR 210 billion of Russia’s sovereign assets and froze around EUR 28 billion of private assets within its jurisdiction, while actively addressing possible utilisation of these funds as reparations owed to Ukraine by Russia under international law. Although significant steps have been taken in terms of private assets and windfall profits, many legal issues concerning the confiscation or management of state assets remain unaddressed. Hence, this paper aims to map current arguments and developments, in order to propose viable options for the use of these three asset types as reparations under EU and international law. At the EU level, proposals under the Common Foreign and Security Policy, especially those relating to the Central Bank of Russia’s (CBR) assets, are hindered by unanimity decision-making processes and the possible use of veto powers by Member States. At the international level, CBR assets are protected by the laws of state immunity. It therefore remains questionable under what circumstances such assets could lawfully be utilised for reparations. This paper argues that currently the most viable legal option, which addresses internal and international challenges, is the establishment of an EU Instrument (Reparations Loan). This could be achieved through carefully designated steps, allowing a qualified majority vote to prolong restrictive measures concerning immobilisation of CBR assets, ensuring temporality and reversibility while connecting this instrument to existing reparations and compensation mechanisms that adjudicate upon Russia’s violations and its obligation to pay reparations or compensation. At an international level, this paper argues that an EU Instrument can be justified in terms of central bank assets’ immunity by offering a new interpretation of the relationship between procedural rules on immunities and secondary rules on countermeasures. Such argumentation does, however, involve important legal risks highlighted throughout the paper.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Negotiators from the 27 national EU governments agreed a common position on a plan to cut red tape for defence companies, with a view to helping Europe quickly scale up its military production. In June, the European Commission presented its Defence Readiness package to alleviate administrative bottlenecks for Europe’s defence industry and simplify defence procurement. […]

Berlin’s refusal to address its dysfunctional power market comes at the cost of Europe’s entire electrical grid

Health advocates say ‘sin taxes’ have huge potential but warn there is no silver bullet

Czech President Petr Pavel will begin interviewing ministerial candidates on Friday and aims to wrap consultations within two weeks

Poland has chosen Sweden to build new submarines to boost its navy’s capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine and fears of Russian threats, its defence minister announced Wednesday. The deal is part of Poland’s “Orka” (Orca) initiative, which aims to replace its Navy’s sole outdated Soviet-era submarine with three brand-new, higher-tech models. […]

The Western Balkans region stands at a critical crossroads for democracy, challenged by rising disinformation campaigns that exploit social divisions and fuel political polarisation, ultimately undermining democratic institutions and sowing scepticism toward European integration.

In the morning of 2 December, the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS) will hold a joint public hearing and discuss ways to effectively counter disinformation and FIMI in the Western Balkans, strengthen its democratic institutions, build public trust, and focus on the role the EU can play in this process.

Location : Brussels
Programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The award ceremony for 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought laureates Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli will be held on Tuesday 16 December.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The award ceremony for 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought laureates Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli will be held on Tuesday 16 December.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The award ceremony for 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought laureates Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli will be held on Tuesday 16 December.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The proposal sets the stage for tough quota negotiations with EU countries next month

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

DRAFT REPORT on the EU strategy to face the new theories against democracy
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Bernard Guetta

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

A US-backed peace plan for Ukraine includes a contentious provision to cap the total size of Kyiv's armed forces

On 7 November in Brussels, European postal operators and EU institutions met to explore how innovation in AI, green mobility, circular logistics and digital customer platforms is shaping the postal industry’s response to the European Union’s policy priorities. The discussions highlighted how postal networks can accelerate the Green Deal, the Digital Europe agenda and social cohesion efforts, strengthening structured cooperation with the European Commission.

Microchipping is already mandatory for dogs in most EU countries, but rarely for cats

More time is needed to figure out financing for the latest space programme to be managed by the EU

An internal council document reveals a bitter fight between richer and poorer countries over the industrial fund's design

Next AFET committee meeting will be held on:

• Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 December, room ANTALL 2Q2, Brussels
• Tuesday 9 December, room SPINELLI 1E2, Brussels - extraordinary meeting

Meetings are webstreamed with the exception of agenda items held "in camera".

AFET - DROI calendar of meetings 2025
AFET - DROI calendar of meetings 2026
Meeting documents
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

MEPs miss the chance to rebuke the Commission's fast-tracked Morocco trade measure