European Union

The EU's executive want to propose a revamp of existing consumer protection enforcement rules so it can handle "big cases"

It is the second time this year that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has to defend her Commission in the European Parliament

Attachés will also raise the ePrivacy Directive in an upcoming working party to address “cookie consent fatigue”

An amendment to the ePrivacy framework could mean fewer websites having to serve cookie pop-ups

Nawrocki’s trip also underlined the difficulties Merz faces in rebuilding close cooperation with Germany’s two biggest neighbours, Poland and France

On Monday, 22 September 2025 in room Spaak 3C50 (16:00-17:30), the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will hold a public hearing on promoting an EU feminist foreign policy. This hearing brings together Margot Wallström, who launched the world's first feminist foreign policy in 2014 when she was Foreign Minister of Sweden, and Aude Maio-Coliche, the EU Ambassador for Equality, to discuss how an EU feminist foreign policy could take shape and what the EU is currently doing in this field.
A Feminist Foreign Policy is an approach that puts gender equality at the centre of foreign policy and highlights resources, representation and rights. The hearing aims to assess the current level of ambition and implementation of the EU's foreign policy as regards gender equality, and provide inspiration and concrete examples for continued work in this area.
Programme
Women in foreign affairs and international security: An increasingly salient debate
Accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5): Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls
Women in politics in the EU: State of play in 2024
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Draghi said long-term contracts must apply to all renewables and nuclear, while Europe should pool its gas buying power

Influential Italian economist calls for "radical simplification" of GDPR on the one-year anniversary of his landmark report on European competitiveness

The Commission president had announced that she would sign AI “pilot projects” today, but the remarks appear to have been a mistake

Within the Schengen area, European Union (EU) citizens and non-EU nationals legally residing in the EU can move freely without being subject to border controls.

The Schengen area has 29 member countries: 25 EU countries (all except Ireland and Cyprus) and 4 non-EU countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). Ireland chose not to join the Schengen area, although its police and judiciary cooperate fully with other Schengen countries in criminal matters.

As of 31 March 2024, Bulgaria and Romania are part of the Schengen area. On that date, border checks were lifted at internal air and sea borders. In January 2025, checks were also removed at internal land borders.

Common rules for the Schengen area

To ensure safe and controlled entry into the Schengen area, the Schengen Borders Code sets out common rules for checks at external borders. These include rules on identity verification and the duration of stay, as well as the common visa requirements. The Code also sets out the conditions for a temporary reintroduction of controls at internal borders within the Schengen area.

Following a 2024 update:

• EU countries can set up internal border checks for a maximum of two years in the case of a serious threat to internal security or public policy (a terrorist threat, for example).
• EU countries can reduce the number of border crossing points or shorten their opening hours in cases where a non-EU country encourages the movement of migrants towards the EU’s external borders.
• The Council can decide to introduce temporary travel restrictions at the EU’s external borders in the case of a large-scale public health emergency (a pandemic, for example).

Common visa policy

The EU has established a common visa policy for persons travelling through or staying for a short period in the Schengen area.

The Visa Code sets out the rules for obtaining short-stay visas, which are the most common type for people from outside the EU. These visas let you stay in the EU for 90 days within a 180-day period. If a person wants to stay longer than 90 days, they have to follow the national rules of the EU country they wish to stay in.

The EU has a list of countries whose citizens need a visa to enter the EU, and a list of countries whose citizens do not.

Digitalisation of the visa procedure

Under new rules from 2023, applications for Schengen visas will be made through an online EU platform. The system will automatically decide which EU country will handle an application. Digital visas will be issued once the online platform has been put in place, which is expected to take a few years.

Further information

• Free movement of persons, EU Fact Sheets, European Parliament, June 2025
• State of the Schengen area, Briefing, European Parliamentary Research Service, May 2025
• Schengen, European Commission, February 2025
• Revision of the Schengen Borders Code, European Parliamentary Research Service, Briefing, July 2024

Keep sending your questions to the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP)! We reply in the EU language that you use to write to us.

The package of measures will likely face resistance from EU governments

Sex education, or sexualisation? Poland is divided on new sexual health school curriculum

In today's edition: Climate action, 2040 target, oil and gas, small modular reactors

Savvas Papasavvas is re-elected Vice-President of the General Court of the European Union

The agreement targets hotspots for illegal fishing such as Argentina’s “mile 201”, near the Falklands

Marc van der Woude is re-elected President of the General Court of the European Union

DRAFT REPORT on drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges
Committee on Security and Defence
Reinis Pozņaks

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Løhde urges focus on EU health reforms as Washington threatens 15% tariffs on pharmaceuticals

The pipelines that for years shipped Russian gas to Europe were damaged by huge explosions in September 2022

RTVE had called on the European Broadcasting Union to debate Israel’s participation, in a letter sent last April