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Welcome to Euractiv’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

European consumers will have the right to have common household appliances, including mobile phones, repaired, while EU countries will have to produce schemes to boost repair rates according to a new law adopted on Friday (2 February).

At a time of increasing geopolitical uncertainty, is predicting the future of the world economy useful - or even possible?

Following a political provisional agreement on the migration pact reached by EU institutions last December, the European Parliament will hold the first vote of formal approval in its plenary session in April, according to a note from the Parliament's agenda-setting body, seen by Euractiv.

In the heart of Europe lies a society held captive by its own leadership, a tale of deepening division under the watch of Hungary's self-proclaimed 'street fighter' Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, writes Gergely Hajdu.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the Bulgarian PM saying a mini Schengen between Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece would be illegal, the Swedish NATO application being on Hungary’s agenda but delays are still expected, and so much more.

Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi laid out a set of priorities for Ukraine and named challenges blighting the country's war effort in an opinion piece published on Thursday after several media outlets reported that he could be dismissed from his post.

Negotiations on the EU-Mercosur common free trade agreement have been halted, confirmed French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday following the European Council meeting, effectively cancelling an EU Commissioner’s trip hours before he was meant to travel to Brazil to sign it.

As the United Nations are preparing to adopt the Global Digital Compact later this year, we discussed this initiative with Tech Envoy Amandeep Singh Gill and what it means for internet governance, Artificial Intelligence and the EU’s international projection on digital policy.

Serbia and Russia have further strengthened their ties in recent days with the signing of a health agreement between the two countries and the announcement of a military drone delivery from Moscow.

Romania “will not engage in any war”, said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in an attempt to ease concerns following Lieutenant General Gheorghiță Vlad’s statement that Romanians should brace themselves for a potential conflict.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană on Thursday (1 February) reaffirmed the Alliance's support for Bosnia during a visit to Sarajevo, condemning the "secessionist policies" of Bosnian Serb leaders.

Removing borders between the three nations would go against EU legislation, and their governments have no intention of starting official discussions of a zone without border control because it would be illegal, said Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov on Thursday.

The Portuguese socialist party is again topping the polls, just five weeks out from the country's parliamentary elections on 10 March - having bounced back from a corruption scandal that rocked the party in November.

Czechia will welcome the construction of four nuclear power units at the existing Dukovany power plant instead of the one initially planned, the Czech government decided Thursday while confirming it will no longer pursue bidding talks with US power company Westinghouse.

Several access roads to the border with Spain were blocked on Thursday by farmers in tractors, demanding enhancement of the sector and fair conditions with the threat of moving the protests to Lisbon if their demands are not met.

The US Senate will vote next week on a border security package that would unlock vital aid for Ukraine, Democrats announced Thursday (1 February), as President Joe Biden hailed a €50 billion package approved by the war-torn nation's European allies.

The Hungarian parliament has put Sweden’s application to join NATO on the agenda for its extraordinary session on Monday, but lawmakers from the ruling Fidesz party are unlikely to attend, meaning Sweden’s already 20-month wait in the NATO queue could not be over quite yet.

As EU policymakers prepare to announce the specifics of the 2040 target, there is a clear risk the EU’s climate ambition could be undermined through a poor design, write Eadbhard Pernot, Mark Preston Aragones and Fabiola De Simone.

EU leaders managed to unanimously agree on the bloc's financial aid to Ukraine and overcome yet another Hungarian veto threat. Here's what that deal means going forward.