Iceland to vote on restarting EU membership talks frozen since 2013
On 29 August, Iceland holds a referendum on whether to resume talks to join the European Union, which is a group of 27 European countries with shared laws and trade rules.
European Union
Brussels, the institutions, and the 27.
Trump puts new tariffs on drones, but EU and UK pay much less
US President Donald Trump has placed steep new import taxes on drones and drone parts, saying he wants to rebuild American drone manufacturing, which the White House calls key to modern warfare.
EU asks countries to send Ukraine Patriot missile defenses, but can't force it
Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, and the European Commission are asking EU countries to voluntarily give Ukraine some of their Patriot air-defense systems, which shoot down incoming missiles.
Projection: Centrist Bloc May Lose Majority in EU Parliament
A new projection from the research group Europe Elects suggests the centrist alliance that has run the European Parliament since 2019 could lose its majority for the first time.
Meta and TikTok agree to send Spain border content to EU-approved fact-checkers
After roughly 70,000 migrants rushed the Ceuta border fence on 30 July 2026, a surge partly driven by viral videos that left nearly 100 people dead, the European Union pressed Meta and TikTok to act.
EU now blocks China by default from most joint research funding
The European Commission changed the rule for a €14 billion EU research programme covering 2026 and 2027, called Horizon Europe.
EU set to keep pausing fingerprint checks at borders past September deadline
The EU's new border system requires fingerprint and photo scans of non-EU travellers, including Britons, entering Europe's Schengen travel area.
Poland's Biggest Oil Discovery Since World War Two Sparks Dispute With Germany
A Canadian company has found a large oil and gas field in the Baltic Sea off Poland's coast — reportedly Poland's biggest find since World War Two.
Brussels presses Meta and TikTok on Ceuta migration rumours
False social media posts claiming Spain's Ceuta enclave had opened its border helped push around 72,000 people to cross from Morocco on 30-31 July, and at least 80 people died.
EU freezes assets, bans travel for 5 more Russians over strikes on Ukraine
The European Union has added five more people to its sanctions list over Russia's renewed missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
EU signs contract for 66 more satellites in its own communications network
The European Commission has signed a contract to add 66 satellites to IRIS², a planned European satellite network for secure communications.
EU migration chief urges pressure on Morocco to prevent another Ceuta crossing
The EU's migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, says Brussels should use trade deals and visa rules as leverage over Morocco to stop another mass crossing like the one a week earlier, when tens of thousands of migrants entered Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the coast of North Africa.