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This European Parliamentary Research Service paper aims to inform Members on issues related to a forthcoming Commission initiative. It highlights the main choices that may shape the initiative and which Members may wish to explore ahead of formal European Commission adoption. Based on documentary and other sources, it reflects the information available at the time of writing. For further information on this topic, Members and staff of the European Parliament may contact the author. KEY ISSUES AT ...

Two and a half years since the new rules on the common agricultural policy (CAP) started to apply, the Commission is amending them for the second time. The proposal comes just weeks before the Commission aims to make a separate proposal for the CAP rules that would be in force after 2027. While the first package of amendments, adopted in July 2024 after widespread farmer protests, lowered some of the environmental conditionality requirements and did away with the conditionality controls and penalties ...

Denmark assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July and will hold the office until 31 December 2025. It took over from Poland and will hand the baton to Cyprus, the three countries forming a presidency trio.

Albania has been an EU candidate country since June 2014. On 25 March 2020, the Council decided to open accession negotiations with the country, based on its progress in meeting the political criteria and fulfilling the five priorities that are key for EU membership. Accession negotiations effectively started in July 2022, when the first intergovernmental conference was held. The main challenges are flaws in the functioning of the judiciary, in the fight against corruption, and in the safeguarding ...

North Macedonia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. The country applied for EU membership in March 2004 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. As part of the June 2018 Prespa Agreement, the country changed its name to Republic of North Macedonia ('North Macedonia' in short), in exchange for Greece ending its veto on the country's EU and NATO accessions. The first intergovernmental conference on 19 July 2022 marked the beginning of accession negotiations. The newly ...

During the July plenary session, the European Parliament is expected to vote on an agreement with the Council aimed at addressing third countries' unsustainable practices in relation to shared fish stocks. The agreed text resulting from interinstitutional negotiations would amend existing EU legislation in order to make the rules for penalising non-cooperative third countries clearer and more transparent. The aim is to ensure the sustainability of shared fish stocks and to protect EU fishers from ...

Gas storage provides a valuable reserve in case of strong demand or supply disruption, reducing the need to import additional gas and helping stabilise energy prices. In March 2025, the European Commission proposed an amendment to the Gas Storage Regulation, adopted during the 2022 energy crisis, to extend its validity until the end of 2027. During its July plenary session, the European Parliament will vote on the text agreed in trilogue negotiations with the Council.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 3.2 million, became independent from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992, following a referendum that was boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The country was offered an EU membership perspective at the EU–Western Balkans summit in Thessaloniki in 2003. Building on the European Commission's recommendation of 12 March 2024, the European Council decided on 21 March to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Parliament's Committee on ...

Georgia applied for EU membership in March 2022 and received candidate status on 14 December 2023, under certain conditions. Since then, the severe democratic backsliding brought about by the ruling Georgian Dream party has resulted in the de facto halt of Georgia's EU accession process. Additionally, the country is currently embroiled in a political crisis following the contested October 2024 parliamentary elections. Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) adopted its report on the 2023 ...

Draft amending budget No 1/2025 (DAB 1/2025) to the EU's 2025 general budget seeks to enter the €1.35 billion surplus from implementation of the 2024 budget as revenue into the 2025 budget. Including this surplus would lead to a corresponding reduction in Member States' gross national income (GNI) contributions to the 2025 budget. The European Parliament is expected to vote on the Council's position on DAB 1/2025 during the July plenary session.