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European Commission President von der Leyen announced the EU KIDS Act has been approved by the College. It bans social media under 13 and personal accounts under 15; ages 13-15 may use only mini accounts set up and supervised by parents or guardians, limited to one hour a day. For ages 15-18, safety-by-design is obligatory. Platforms must submit child safety plans in advance, and age verification uses EU-certified tools.
EU Commissioner Dombrovskis, speaking at the Eurofi forum in Dublin, outlined three themes: the digital euro project, strengthening the euro's international role, and a simplification agenda to boost banking competitiveness. He noted nearly two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area run through non-European providers, while 13 euro area member states rely entirely on international schemes. The digital euro's first issuance is targeted for 2029, with the Commission supporting the Irish Presidency's aim to conclude trilogue negotiations by year-end. He also said outstanding EU bonds have reached around €800 billion and that the Commission will push for their inclusion in sovereign bond…
On September 17, the European Commission adopted the EU KIDS Act proposal, prohibiting social media platforms from accessing children under 13 and setting an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for minors to open their own accounts. The Act is structured around four pillars: social media delay, safety-by-design, privacy-preserving age assurance, and effective enforcement. Platforms must prove their services are age-appropriate and safe by design, and submit compliance plans. The proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament and Council for examination.
European Commissioner Dombrovskis addressed the European Parliament plenary on gold-plating, warning that when Member States add stricter or broader requirements while transposing EU law, it distorts competition, raises compliance costs especially for SMEs, and discourages cross-border activity. The Commission will work with Member States on better detection, follow-up and prevention, prepare a best-practice toolkit, and has circulated questionnaires to Member States and stakeholders.
The European Commission raised €11 billion of EU-Bonds in its eighth syndicated transaction of 2026, comprising a €6 billion new 3-year EU-Bond maturing 12 March 2030 and a €5 billion new 30-year EU-Bond maturing 12 October 2056. Both tranches were priced against reference points in the EU-Bond curve, reflecting the curve's growing liquidity. The transaction forms part of the Commission's €80 billion funding target for the second half of 2026.
European Commission President von der Leyen delivered the 2026 State of the Union address in Strasbourg on 16 September 2026, outlining EU policy directions on security, economy, climate, technology and migration. She announced new initiatives including a European security strategy, a European Instrument for Strategic Enablers, a European Corporation on Critical Raw Materials, a Climate Insurance Alliance, a European Heatwave Plan, a European Water initiative, the EU KIDS Act and the Digital Fairness Act, while emphasising faster Single Market reform, administrative simplification, clean energy and AI development.
The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to MMG Limited over its proposed acquisition of Anglo American's nickel business, preliminarily finding the deal may restrict competition in the low-carbon ferronickel market. The Commission is concerned MMG could divert low-carbon ferronickel supply away from European markets toward its affiliated stainless steel producers, raising costs for European stainless steel production. MMG is controlled by China Minmetals Corporation, which is controlled by SASAC, which also controls several stainless steel producers. The Commission must decide by Nov. 30, 2026.
The European Commission issued a series of updates on 15 September: launching the Energy Regulation Academy (EnRA) with the European University Institute to train national public officials over three years on implementing EU electricity market reforms; backing an EIB investment of up to €40 million in Finnish SMR developer Steady Energy via InvestEU; successfully launching the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite for ocean, land, atmosphere and climate monitoring and disaster response; committing over €57.8 million through Team Europe to South African green hydrogen and critical raw materials projects; and clearing Iberdrola's acquisition of Finland's Caruna.
European Commissioner Kubilius told the European Parliament plenary on 15 September 2026 that a provisional agreement with the Council has been reached on the Defence Readiness Omnibus. Measures include a maximum 42-working-day permitting deadline for new factories (102 days in complex cases) with tacit approval, exemptions and greater legal clarity for using critical chemicals for defence, simplified European Defence Fund procedures with testing allowed in Ukraine, higher procurement thresholds and joint procurement options, and reduced barriers plus new general transfer licences for intra-EU defence product transfers. The Commission will present a defence market package before the end of…
The European Commission adopted the Fair Labour Mobility Package, comprising six legislative proposals: the ESSPASS Regulation, the ELA Regulation, the Skills Portability Act, the Professional Qualifications+ Directive, the Delegated Directive on Physiotherapists and the Third Country National Qualifications Directive. The package moves labor mobility from paper to digital, including real-time verification of social security documents such as the Portable Document A1 via a mobile app; strengthens the European Labour Authority's inspection and enforcement capacity; digitalises qualifications from secondary school to PhD; shortens qualification recognition procedures and expands automatic rec…
The European Commission raised €11 billion in its 8th syndicated transaction of 2026, comprising a €6 billion new 3-year EU-Bond maturing 12 March 2030 with a 3.375% coupon and a €5 billion new 30-year EU-Bond maturing 12 October 2056 with a 4.5% coupon. The 3-year bond drew a final order book over €72 billion, roughly 12 times oversubscribed, while the 30-year drew over €80 billion, about 16 times oversubscribed. The transaction is part of the Commission's €80 billion funding target for the second half of 2026. The EU's total outstanding debt stands at about €849.27 billion.
European Commissioner Brunner addressed the European Parliament on the situation in Ceuta, stating that nearly 80,000 people entered illegally from Morocco over two days in late July, an unprecedented event. The Schengen area's integrity was preserved through Spanish action with Moroccan cooperation, but thousands remain, including over 2,000 unaccompanied minors. The EU granted €114.7 million in emergency assistance to Spain for border surveillance, screening facilities, and return support, and plans to strengthen Frontex, combat smuggling, and implement new return rules.
The European Commission's annual flagship campaign, European Mobility Week, runs from 16 to 22 September 2026 with more than 2,500 towns and cities participating. This year's theme, 'Mobility for Everyone', places intergenerational fairness at the centre, stressing that people of all ages should access sustainable transport regardless of income, location, gender or abilities. Activities include Car-Free Days in numerous cities, cycling and walking events, educational projects for pupils, and the inauguration of permanent measures such as bicycle ramps on staircases and expanded 30 km/h zones. Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas launched the week on 15 S…
The European Commission published a Q&A on the Fair Labour Mobility package, explaining that ESSPASS will reduce paperwork and provide legal certainty for cross-border businesses, with common information requirements for the portable document A1 improving interoperability with the e-declaration portal. Qualification recognition processing will fall from 4 months to 11 weeks, and to 5 weeks for automatic recognition; recognition of non-EU qualifications will drop from an average of 14 months to 4 months. The Digital Identity Wallet is expected to be available to people and companies across the EU by the end of 2026, with digital qualifications integrated three years after entry into force.
On 15 September 2026 the European Commission adopted the Fair Labour Mobility package, comprising one Communication and five legislative proposals: a Regulation establishing the European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS), a Skills Portability Act, a Regulation strengthening the European Labour Authority (ELA), an amending Directive on professional qualifications, and a Directive on qualifications of third-country nationals. The package aims to let workers handle social security and health insurance documents online, speed up cross-border recognition of qualifications, and cut administrative burdens for companies recruiting or posting staff across the EU. The Commission estimates around EUR 6 b…
European Commission Commissioner Šefčovič addressed the European Parliament plenary debate on the Union Customs Code and Customs Authority, presenting the Customs Reform. The reform centralizes customs data, establishes a new EU Customs Authority based in Lille, and introduces the EU Customs Data Hub as a single entry point for traders across the Union, where data need only be submitted once. The reform is expected to save EU businesses up to 1 billion euros per year. E-commerce operators can access the Hub from 1 July 2028, with other operators able to start using it by 2031. The reform also restores fairness in e-commerce: platforms and sellers, not consumers, are considered the importer…
The European Commission published a mid-term assessment of the five EU Missions under Horizon Europe, finding steady progress toward 2030 goals. The Climate Adaptation Mission has largely surpassed its target, with 292 regional and local authorities having implemented climate adaptation measures. The Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission has 107 cities with Climate City Contracts, projected to cut emissions 76% by 2030 backed by more than €13 billion in investment. The Cancer Mission is expected to improve the lives of 2.3 million people by 2030. The Ocean and Waters Mission delivered 121 innovative solutions tested at 349 demonstration sites, and the Soil Mission has established 45 Livi…
The European Commission has approved a €52 million (RON 277 million) Romanian State aid scheme to support cattle farmers affected by increased fuel and fertiliser prices stemming from the Middle East crisis. Approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework (METSAF) adopted on 29 April 2026, the scheme will run until 31 December 2026 and provide direct grants of up to €50,000 per company. The Commission found the scheme necessary, appropriate and proportionate under EU State aid rules.
EU Commissioner Lahbib made her first visit to Moldova, noting the country has taken in more than two million people since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and still hosts around 140,000 Ukrainian refugees. The EU has provided over €93 million in humanitarian aid since 2022, but with the Refugee Response Plan ending this year, support is shifting from emergency relief to long-term inclusion in national systems. Moldova also deployed around 50 firefighters to Greece and hosted Ukraine's aerial firefighting capacities.
The European Commission has approved an additional €6.1 billion for Ukraine to procure defence products in air and missile defence, ammunition, drones and electronic warfare. Funded under the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan, the package includes five derogations from standard eligibility conditions, enabling Ukraine to purchase PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems, including via the NATO-coordinated PURL mechanism. The funding aims to strengthen Ukraine's capacity to withstand continued Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes while reinforcing Europe's own defence.
European Commissioner Roswall announced at an event in Avesta, Sweden, that the Circular Economy Act will be presented later this year. The Act aims to simplify the regulatory framework and remove single market barriers, particularly differing definitions of waste. Currently, approval to transport electronic waste between Member States can take 90 to 180 days. The Act will also strengthen secondary raw material markets and reduce dependency on critical raw material imports.
The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance held its first board meeting in Brussels with 18 founding members, including nine EU companies and nine Ukrainian companies. The Alliance aims to accelerate development and production of next-generation drone and counter-drone systems. Ukraine produced over 4 million drones in 2025 and expects 10 million in 2026. Commissioner Kubilius stressed the need for design cycles measured in weeks and rapid scaling capacity.
Executive Vice-President Virkkunen stated at a Dublin conference that the EU is strengthening online protection for children through the Digital Services Act (DSA) and AI Act. 97% of minors in the EU go online daily, and teenagers aged 13-18 spend an average of 4.5 hours on screens per day. The Commission has opened investigations into platforms including X, Shein and Snapchat, and issued 10 preliminary findings.
EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection McGrath said at a Dublin conference on online safety for children and young people that the Commission will present a Digital Fairness Act (DFA) by the end of this year to close gaps in consumer protection rules for the digital age. The DFA could address dark patterns, misleading influencer marketing, unfair personalisation and personalised pricing, subscription-management difficulties, and drip pricing paired with dynamic pricing, and may consider switching off attention-maximising features by default and prohibiting loot boxes for minors. The Commission has already issued preliminary DSA findings against Meta and TikTok.
The European Commission approved an additional €6.1 billion for Ukraine to procure defence products in air and missile defence, ammunition, drones and electronic warfare, funded under the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan. The decision also enables Ukraine to procure PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems, including via the NATO-coordinated PURL mechanism, and includes five derogations from standard eligibility conditions. With this approval, the €28.3 billion allocated for Ukraine's 2026 defence support has been fully committed.