European Union

The Council has adopted a recommendation on human capital that will help member states tackle labour and skills shortages across the EU, with a view to boosting competitiveness and resilience.

President Costa and President von der Leyen issued a joint statement after the video conference with Leaders from Middle East countries on the war in Iran, on 9 March 2026.

The Council presidency, the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the President of the Eurogroup met with European social partners on 9 March 2026 to discuss recent developments of the economic situation, as well as a thematic topic chosen by the Cyprus Presidency: “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the EU labour market: Safeguarding EU Competitiveness and Social Cohesion”.

The Council has approved conclusions calling on member states and the Commission to invest in children, in order to increase their well-being and combat poverty and social exclusion in the EU.

The Council today agreed to the appointment of Andrés Ritter as the new European chief prosecutor to the EPPO from 1 November 2026.

On 6 March 2026, European Council President António Costa was in Hamburg where he delivered a speech at the Matthiae Mahl event.

Weekly schedule of President António Costa, 9-15 March 2026.

President Costa will be in Baku on 11 March for a series of high-level meetings with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and senior government representatives.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

RTLZWEI: München (ots) - - Bei der Feuerwehr München herrscht Ausnahmezustand - Rettungskräfte aus Itzehoe werden erstmals begleitet - Neue Folgen "Mensch Retter - Jede Sekunde zählt" ab dem 2. April 2026 um 20:15 Uhr bei RTLZWEI und sieben Tage vorab ...

Jahreszeiten Verlag, DER FEINSCHMECKER: Hamburg (ots) - - Redaktion stellt 55 ausgewählte Hotels und Gourmetadressen in Südtirol vor. - Höhenluft trifft Mittelmeer: Alpencharme verbindet sich mit mediterraner Küche und Wellness. - Hotels bieten ideale Ausgangspunkte für sportliche ...

PiNCAMP powered by ADAC: Berlin (ots) - Campingurlaub bleibt in Deutschland im europäischen Vergleich preiswert. Eine Familie zahlt für einen Campingaufenthalt in der Sommer-Hochsaison durchschnittlich 41 EUR pro Nacht. In Thüringen - dem günstigsten Bundesland - kostet ...

OVO Vertriebs GmbH: Köln (ots) - Die Firma OVO Vertriebs GmbH ruft das nachfolgende Produkt zurück: - Meisterklasse Schinken-Zwiebelmettwurst 200g Charge L04804 Verbrauchsdatum 12.03.2026 Der Rückruf erfolgt im Sinne des vorbeugenden Verbraucherschutzes rein ...

Elbe Flugzeugwerke: Dresden (ots) - Die Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), ein Joint Venture von ST Engineering und Airbus, bauen ihre Präsenz im schnell wachsenden chinesischen Luftfahrtmarkt weiter aus und haben dazu einen Vertrag mit dem in Hongkong ansässigen ...

Thursday 12 March

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Thursday 12 March

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Written by Steven Blaakman

Europe is one of the world’s primary destinations for international migrants. In 2024, the region hosted approximately 94 million migrants, the highest number of any region in the world. The biggest share enter via legal means. The EU is experiencing skills shortages, which is partly because of its ageing population, and migrants could play a role in helping to plug them. The EU shares competence on migration and asylum policies with its Member States; EU legislation plays a significant role in managing legal migration, although its impact varies by type of migration.

Nonetheless, data consistently show that most EU legal migration tools are under-used. Blue Cards, an EU initiative to attract highly skilled workers, account for only a fraction of permits issued for employment reasons and few EU countries make significant use of them, which would suggest more work is needed to make them an attractive option. Similarly, the Single Permit, which is a combined work and residency permit, is mostly used by just a handful of EU countries. In recent years, the EU has also launched new initiatives with non-EU countries such as Talent Partnerships and a Talent Pool, but it is too early to say anything about their impact. There is also a directive for seasonal workers, but again only a few EU countries make much use of it.

The EU plays an important role when it comes to asylum by setting common standards, clarifying which EU country is responsible for processing an application, and encouraging solidarity. The European Commission has proposed a Return Regulation to make it easer and faster to return non-EU citizens who were unsuccessful in their bid to obtain asylum. It includes the possibility to create return hubs in non-EU countries, which many Member States are interested in. Temporary protection was used for the first time to help Ukrainians after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Legal migration to the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Au Congo-Brazzaville, les militaires votent aujourd’hui, jeudi 12 mars, par anticipation pour l’élection présidentielle. Les autres citoyens ont rendez-vous aux urnes ce dimanche 15 mars. Le président Denis Sassou Nguesso est en lice, après plus de 40 années cumulées au pouvoir. En face, six autres candidats. Mais pas de poids lourds de l’opposition, éclatée et muselée. Quels sont les enjeux de ce scrutin et que disent-ils de la vie politique congolaise ? Etanislas Ngodi est enseignant-chercheur à l’Université Marien Ngouabi de Brazzaville. Il est l’invité de Charlotte Idrac.