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In the EU, 20 % of farms get 80 % of hectare-based direct payments under the common agricultural policy (CAP). This has been an issue since the introduction of these payments, and successive European Commissions have tried to solve it by capping these payments, but this measure has so far been optional for Member States. As part of the ongoing CAP reform, the European Commission has proposed a mandatory annual cap of €100 000 per farm, with a progressive reduction of the hectare-based payments starting ...

The 10 March 2025 agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian interim authorities aimed to integrate the security and civilian institutions established in northeastern Syria into the state structures by the end of the year. Its failure prompted a rapid government offensive in January 2026, which led to the SDF losing a vast majority of territory. The resulting violence displaced over 170 000 people and raised serious concerns about the SDF-guarded detention centres ...

The reform of social security rules, proposed in 2016, was provisionally agreed by the EU co-legislators in April 2026. After adoption by Parliament in plenary in July, the file awaits final adoption by the Council, envisaged for September. The revised rules seek to coordinate access to social security for those who live or work in another EU country. They also distribute the financial burden more equitably among EU countries and reinforce measures to identify and tackle fraud. Provisions on unemployment ...

The European Commission wants to improve the quality of jobs in the EU. Building on its communication on the quality jobs roadmap, it is now preparing a new legislative proposal, the quality jobs act. Taking as a starting point the existing EU rules, it has consulted European social partners on possible further action in five areas: algorithmic management and artificial intelligence (AI) at work; health and safety at work; subcontracting; just transitions; and enforcement and role of social partners ...

With expanding clean technologies, the boom of data centers, and increased security needs, comes a growth in demand for critical resources. Known as critical and strategic raw materials (CRMs and SRMs) in the European Union (EU), and critical minerals (CM) in the United States (US), these resources are invaluable to both European and American industries. Abundant within the Earth's crust, but controlled by only a handful of countries, high-risk, low-diversity supply chains have raised the alarm globally ...

Corporate actors are central to the European automotive sector: they purchase 58 % of new cars and 90 % of new vans, use these vehicles two to three times more intensively than private owners, and typically sell them on the second-hand market after three to four years, a segment where over 80 % of European citizens purchase their vehicles. Given these dynamics, corporate fleets have a pivotal role to play in accelerating the transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to zero-emission vehicles ...

2026 data confirm chronic EU-wide overexposure to cadmium, a toxic heavy metal causing irreversible kidney and bone damage. In the EU, phosphate fertilisers are the primary source of contamination, and contribute 55 % of the cadmium added to EU farmlands annually, causing the toxic heavy metal to accumulate in 45 % of agricultural soils faster than it can be removed. Current regulations are fragmented and scientifically insufficient, yet the European Commission's May 2026 fertiliser action plan missed ...

Europe's nuclear deterrence architecture is undergoing its most significant transformation since the end of the Cold War. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, repeated nuclear coercion by Moscow and growing uncertainty regarding the long-term reliability of US security guarantees have returned nuclear deterrence to the centre of European defence policy. NATO continues to define itself as a nuclear alliance, with the United States (US) providing the core of its deterrence posture through nuclear-sharing ...

This briefing, published by the European Parliamentary Research Service, aims to provide a broad range of key facts and figures about the European Parliament. Its many graphics offer a picture of the Parliament's Members and the institution's structures and activity in the current parliamentary term (July 2024 to June 2029) and in previous five-year terms since direct elections were introduced in June 1979.

The thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) contain carbon-fluorine bonds, one of the strongest chemical bonds in organic chemistry, making them resistant to degradation. The favourable physicochemical properties that make PFAS valuable for countless applications and products pose huge environmental challenges: PFAS are persistent. Due to their persistence and mobility, widespread use and resulting emissions, PFAS are now ubiquitous contaminants, polluting soil and water resources. ...