European Union

REPORT on addressing transnational repression of human rights defenders
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Chloé Ridel

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Europe must embrace Renewable Circularity to regain industrial leadership reviving its chemical sector and driving growth through strong market incentives, sustainable biomass access, and strategic biorefineries that anchor innovation, decarbonization, and competitiveness at the core of Europe’s future industrial policy.

A NATO official said the body had been informed by the Trump administration advance and also played down its significance

The Paris-based agency is aiming to close out a three-year, €22 billion budget at its next pledging summit in Bremen

On Tuesday 4 November, the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos will present the 2025 enlargement package to the Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The debate will focus on the progress made by candidate and potential candidate countries on their respective EU accession paths.
Following the Commission's assessment of the EU-related reforms in the enlargement countries, AFET rapporteurs will draft resolutions, outlining Parliament's conclusions and recommendations for each country.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

To mark the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Security and Defence, the Committee on Development, and the Subcommittee on Human Rights will hold a joint meeting on 4 November to reflect on eight decades of multilateralism and to discuss the challenges and hopes for the future. Speakers will include representatives from the United Nations and the European Union, as well as a young political leader.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In today's edition: Kremlin disinformation, Dutch elections, Scaleup Europe Fund

In today's edition: EU-Ukraine, Mercosur, avian flu

In today's edition: Alcohol, Cigarettes, and how Bulgaria is losing the childhood obesity battle

Plus, Beretta choked by red/green tape, the European Air Shield, and a think tank dabbles in drone production.

In today's edition: Energy Union, COP30, 2040 target, critical minerals

Citizens are calling on the European Union to boost the European railway sector. Many citizens have written to the European Parliament’s Transport Committee on this subject since October 2025, asking for more subsidies for railways, the development of high-speed rail networks and tax reductions for rail.

We replied to citizens who took the time to write to the Transport Committee.

EU support for rail travel

One goal of the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal is to reduce emissions in the transport sector by 90 % by 2050.

To achieve this, the EU has adopted a sustainable and smart mobility strategy and an action plan for rail to boost long-distance and cross-border travel. The action plan aims to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and treble it by 2050, using targeted investments, standardisation of European rail systems and better connectivity for rural and remote regions.

In 2023, the European Commission proposed new rules to better manage railway tracks, increase reliability and help reduce transport-related emissions. The European Parliament adopted its position on the proposal in 2024.

In 2025, the EU invested €2.8 billion through its Connecting Europe Facility programme, mostly for rail, to modernise the railways and improve cross-border transport across the trans-European transport network (TEN‑T).

In 2025, the Commission announced it would develop a sustainable transport investment plan to support cleaner transport in Europe. One of the aims is to encourage more people to use the railways.

European Parliament position

In June 2025, the European Parliament addressed railway transport in the EU in two separate resolutions.

In the first resolution, Parliament said that road, rail and maritime (sea) transport links needed to be developed through EU co-funded programmes, to reduce the isolation of rural areas and facilitate the sustainable mobility of people and goods. In the second resolution, Parliament regretted the shortage of viable cross-border measures, including high-speed railways, that are essential for completing the TEN‑T network.

In an earlier resolution adopted in 2022, Parliament recognised the crucial role of rail in decarbonising mobility. It supported the EU’s sustainable and smart mobility strategy and welcomed the Commission’s action plan.

Aviation fuel tax exemption

In 2021, as part of the Green Deal, the Commission tabled a proposal to review the Energy Taxation Directive. The proposal would remove the mandatory tax exemption for aviation (aeroplane) fuels.

The proposal is subject to the ‘special legislative procedure’, which means the European Parliament is only consulted, and national governments must reach unanimous agreement in the Council. So far, the national governments have not reached an agreement. Further information is available in this briefing from the European Parliament’s Research Service.

Background

Citizens often send messages to the European Parliament expressing their views and/or requesting action. The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (AskEP) within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) replies to these messages, which may sometimes be identical as part of wider public campaigns.

In today’s edition: Dutch voters head to the polls as Rob Jetten’s progressive D66 gains momentum, a probe reveals the EU kept paying a convicted neo-Nazi MEP, and Brussels and New Delhi inch closer to a trade deal after ‘constructive’ talks

Earlier this month, a piece of good news rippled through Southeast Europe: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Moldova were admitted to the operations system of Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), the network that lets a transfer in Tirana zip to Tallinn—or almost anywhere else in Europe—as swiftly and cheaply as a domestic payment.

Although the government has since launched a €16 billion reconstruction plan, experts say prevention remains Valencia’s weakest point

European hospitals trusted Zivver for secure communications – but a US takeover has changed the rules without them knowing

Health leaders say Europe risks undoing decades of progress against deadly diseases if it withdraws support

The European Commission has long accused Hungary and PiS's Poland of democratic backsliding and eroding judicial independence