Euractiv.com

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted most European member states to consider significantly boosting military spending after years of underinvestment. Many national budgets have already increased military expenditures. What next for the defence industry base?

Kazakhstan has gained strategic importance, especially since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine. It's becoming a stronger partner for the EU in Central Asia and market opportunities for both regions are emerging.

Kazakhstan is a growing market opportunity for European agricultural food and beverage exports, says Wojciechowski, underlining what he hails as the emerging importance of an evolving EU-Kazakh relationship.

Scalability for Europe’s innovators requires private capital - climate change and digitalisation demand that capital quickly. Europe needs more and better investment in key sectors to drive Europe’s place in the world, says Invest Europe.

The Swedish Medical Products Agency is seeking a new mandate to address drug shortages. It wants to take charge of redistributing critical medicines to pharmacies and setting up a stock-based situational awareness system.

Hospitals in Hungary are sounding alarm as rising debts restrict operations, with officials reporting there are very few medical interventions for which the available funding provides sufficient financial coverage.

The Polish government has reallocated €139.5 million from the National Recovery Plan to support the zero-emission economy. The move upset the Polish pharmaceutical sector as the funds were originally intended for drug production.

Belgium's political landscape is undergoing a reshuffle, raising critical questions about how the new Belgian government will address the fragmented state of healthcare. Re-federalisation of the healthcare system is an idea gaining traction.

The EU should prepare for the consequences of a future heroin shortage, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has warned, following the Taliban crackdown on opium in Afghanistan.

The potential team-up of the French conservative Les Républicains (LR) with the far-right party of Marine le Pen is also making waves in Germany, with the conservative CDU/CSU threatening to kick them out from their common EU-party, the EPP.

“To be honest, I don’t expect anything else than the nomination of Ursula von der Leyen,” European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Tuesday (11 June), adding that he was he was “very optimistic” that the European Parliament will confirm her appointment in July.

On Tuesday (June 11), Éric Ciotti, president of the French Republicans (LR), announced that he would be joining forces with the National Rally (RN) for the legislative elections, while most of the Gaullist party's executives are calling for his resignation.

Emboldened by gains in Sunday's (9 June) EU elections, German far-right lawmakers boycotted the speech by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Bundestag on Tuesday, saying he should stop the war and reach a peaceful settlement with Moscow.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the recent assault on her in Copenhagen was proof that the boundaries in society are changing fast, spurred on by social media, and described the disappointing results for her coalition in the European election as a “wake-up call”.

ChatGPT integration into Apple's operating service iOS later this year could trigger an update of EU's digital antitrust regulation by the European Commission, a spokesperson said.

The dissolution of the French National Assembly has given EU lawmakers from the far-right Rassemblement national a dilemma over whether they should run in the national parliamentary election later this month and enter the French assembly rather than the European one. 

Young voters in Western Europe turned out surprisingly in favour of a 'United States of Europe' in the European elections, paving the way for passing the torch in the EU's dusty federalist circles.

Czechia has enforced new legislation since 1 June aimed at reducing the impact of drug shortages on patients while enhancing the efficiency of the pharmaceutical market.

Whooping cough incidence in Sweden is on the rise. The Swedish chief epidemiologist advises parents to keep their babies away from people with cold symptoms - similar trends are now seen in other parts of Europe.

After President Emmanuel Macron shocked France by calling snap elections on Sunday, national left-wing parties called in a joint appeal on Monday (10 June) for “the formation of a new popular front” to change the country's political course.