European Union

MEP Kai Tegethoff’s warning is clear: the true danger for Europe’s mobility shift is hesitation, not ambition

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has agreed to roll back an imminent ban on the sale of new internal combustion-engined cars and vans after late-night negotiations with the leader of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), the German newspaper Bild reported on Thursday. Manfred Weber told the newspaper the EU executive had […]

Both sectors are unhappy, but for different reasons

Kaja Kallas announced a new whistleblower policy to her staff on Thursday

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The Eurogroup elected Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of Economy and Finance of Greece, as President of the Eurogroup, in line with Protocol 14 of the EU treaties.

Eurogroup issued a statement on the draft budgetary plans for 2026 highlighting that the euro area economy grew more than expected in 2025 and is set for moderate growth in 2026, but faces risks from global uncertainty, while public deficits and debt are rising slightly. The Eurogroup also welcomed most countries' 2026 budget plans as compliant with EU fiscal rules.

Council and Parliament reached a deal to reinforce EU foreign investment screening, improving coordination and safeguarding key technologies and infrastructure.

Investment simplification: Council agrees position on the ‘Invest EU’ regulation to boost EU competitiveness.

Eurogroup issued a statement on the draft budgetary plans for 2026 highlighting that the euro area economy grew more than expected in 2025 and is set for moderate growth in 2026, but faces risks from global uncertainty, while public deficits and debt are rising slightly. The Eurogroup also welcomed most countries' 2026 budget plans as compliant with EU fiscal rules.

Council and Parliament reached a deal to reinforce EU foreign investment screening, improving coordination and safeguarding key technologies and infrastructure.

Investment simplification: Council agrees position on the ‘Invest EU’ regulation to boost EU competitiveness.

The EU’s pharma package negotiations, which ran over 11 hours starting late Wednesday evening, were packed with trade-offs and gains for drugmakers

'Let's see if he really wants peace, or if he prefers the slaughter to continue,' Mark Rutte said

The accords stopped the bloodshed. But the delicate tapestry of borders and administrations is far from being a functioning state

Revised version, December 2025

Tax expenditures (TEs) are benefits granted through the tax system that lower government revenue and the tax liability of beneficiaries. Governments worldwide use TEs to pursue different policy goals such as attracting investment, boosting innovation and mitigating inequality. At the same time, TEs are costly: according
to the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED), the worldwide average over the 1990-2023 period is 3.7 percent of GDP and 23.0 percent of tax revenue
(Redonda et al., 2025). When ill designed, they can be ineffective in reaching their stated goals. They can also be highly distortive and trigger negative externalities.
Yet, despite the fact that TEs have similar effects on public budgets as direct spending programmes, the lack of transparency in the TE field is striking, as only
116 out of 218 jurisdictions have reported on TEs at least once since 1990.1 In addition, the quality, regularity and scope of such reports are highly heterogeneous and, in many cases, do not allow to engage in meaningful discussions on the effectiveness and efficiency of TEs. The Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index (GTETI) is the first comparative assessment of TE reporting covering jurisdictions worldwide. It provides a systematic framework to rank jurisdictions according to the regularity, quality and scope of their TE reports, and seeks to increase transparency and accountability in the TE field. Note that countries are not scored, ranked or compared on the size of revenue forgone reported, nor on the quality of their TE policy as such. This new version of the Companion Paper introduces the GTETI, outlines the updates made to the index since December 2024, and provides an in-depth explanation of its five dimensions and 25 indicators. It also discusses the rationale, scope, methodology, and assumptions
underpinning the GTETI assessment process. The Companion Paper explains the limitations and issues users should bear in mind when consulting the index, which is publicly available free of charge on the Tax Expenditures Lab website,  www.taxexpenditures.org.

Revised version, December 2025

Tax expenditures (TEs) are benefits granted through the tax system that lower government revenue and the tax liability of beneficiaries. Governments worldwide use TEs to pursue different policy goals such as attracting investment, boosting innovation and mitigating inequality. At the same time, TEs are costly: according
to the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED), the worldwide average over the 1990-2023 period is 3.7 percent of GDP and 23.0 percent of tax revenue
(Redonda et al., 2025). When ill designed, they can be ineffective in reaching their stated goals. They can also be highly distortive and trigger negative externalities.
Yet, despite the fact that TEs have similar effects on public budgets as direct spending programmes, the lack of transparency in the TE field is striking, as only
116 out of 218 jurisdictions have reported on TEs at least once since 1990.1 In addition, the quality, regularity and scope of such reports are highly heterogeneous and, in many cases, do not allow to engage in meaningful discussions on the effectiveness and efficiency of TEs. The Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index (GTETI) is the first comparative assessment of TE reporting covering jurisdictions worldwide. It provides a systematic framework to rank jurisdictions according to the regularity, quality and scope of their TE reports, and seeks to increase transparency and accountability in the TE field. Note that countries are not scored, ranked or compared on the size of revenue forgone reported, nor on the quality of their TE policy as such. This new version of the Companion Paper introduces the GTETI, outlines the updates made to the index since December 2024, and provides an in-depth explanation of its five dimensions and 25 indicators. It also discusses the rationale, scope, methodology, and assumptions
underpinning the GTETI assessment process. The Companion Paper explains the limitations and issues users should bear in mind when consulting the index, which is publicly available free of charge on the Tax Expenditures Lab website,  www.taxexpenditures.org.

Justice Commissioner McGrath said independent media must be able to thrive in every EU country

Many diplomats suspect Belgium’s staunch resistance to the EU's floated “reparations loan” harmed rival Vincent Van Peteghem’s efforts to succeed Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe

Pellegrini highlighted the insufficient guarantees for victim protection and unresolved EU concerns