login
login
Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13613
Contents Publication in full By article 6 / 39
SECURITY - DEFENCE / Defence/economy

Positive initial discussions at EU Council on ‘SAFE’ instrument, which will provide Member States with loans to increase military spending

On Wednesday 2 April, the ambassadors of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper) held an initial exchange of views on the proposal for a ‘SAFE’ regulation aimed at setting up a European financial instrument to grant loans to Member States wishing to invest more in military spending (see EUROPE B13603A8).

The discussion took place on the basis of a compromise proposal from the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. According to several sources, this text slightly modifies the...

Contents

BEACONS
BEACONS: The European Union, an object of hatred
EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED STATES: Donald Trump targets European products with a 20% tariff
GEORGIA: EU denounces adoption of new legislation “incompatible with EU values”
FOREIGN AFFAIRS/JUSTICE: EU “would deeply regret” Hungary’s withdrawal from International Criminal Court
SECURITY - DEFENCE
NATO: burden sharing, support for Ukraine and cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries on agenda for meeting of Allied foreign affairs ministers
DEFENCE/ECONOMY: positive initial discussions at EU Council on ‘SAFE’ instrument, which will provide Member States with loans to increase military spending
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
BUDGET: European Parliament adopts priorities for 2026 EU budget after difficult negotiations with EPP within pro-European majority
INDUSTRY: MEPs welcome steel action plan and call for even more to be done
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: MEPs call for a “determined, disciplined and assertive” EU foreign policy
CSDP: European Parliament calls for better defence preparedness
HUMAN RIGHTS: EU must be ready to combat ever growing number of human rights violations, say MEPs
JUSTICE: European Parliament approves agreement strengthening cooperation on criminal justice matters between Eurojust and authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: ban on Gay Pride in Hungary is being debated in European Parliament
MEDIA: EU must support free and independent press if it is not to “lose information battle”, say MEPs
HOME AFFAIRS: MEPs forward their opinion to EU Council on strengthening identity cards and residence documents issued in EU
MERCOSUR: still no majority in European Parliament to clearly reject EU/Mercosur trade agreement
SEA: fishing, a contentious issue in European Parliament over scope of future ‘Oceans Pact’
FISHERIES: European Parliament approves conclusion of new fisheries agreement with Guinea-Bissau
SECTORAL POLICIES
ENVIRONMENT: European Commission wants to exclude SMEs from regulation on preventing plastic pellet losses
ENVIRONMENT: ECR Group campaigning for European Parliament committee of inquiry into EU funding of NGOs to be set up
AGRICULTURE: EU Council/European Parliament negotiations on new genomic techniques expected to begin early May
MIGRATION: draft Regulation on return of people residing illegally in EU looks set to be an arduous task for EU Council
MIGRATION: Europeans favour policies that offer irregular migrants paths to legal status, according to an EUI study
DIGITAL: Reporters Without Borders pulls out of European ‘AI Code of Practice’ negotiations
DIGITAL: several European digital lobbies warn of administrative burden that Code of Practice on AI could represent
TRANSPORT: European citizens would like to travel and book trips online more seamlessly, according to Eurobarometer survey
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT: EU talent pool - European Parliament to be called on 3 April to confirm parliamentary committee’s negotiating mandate
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
BANKS: regulatory simplification must not lead to deregulation, warns Dominique Laboureix
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
RUSSIA: Mr and Mrs Timchenko’s appeals against EU sanctions rejected again
RUSSIA: appeals by three members of Pumpyanskiy family upheld by General Court of EU
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
HEALTH: Council of Europe report analyses implementation of convention on counterfeit medical products in times of pandemics
NEWS BRIEFS
HUMANITARIAN AID: EU sets up air bridge to support victims of earthquake in Myanmar
ECONOMY: euro area inflation estimated at 2.2% in March
ECONOMY: payment to Ukrainian authorities of a €3.5 billion tranche of aid under ‘Ukraine Facility’
INDUSTRY: EU seeks input on business-to-business collaboration on critical raw materials
YOUTH: new call for applications to encourage young Europeans to travel by train under DiscoverEU
RESEARCH: EU investing €608.6 million to train more than 1,800 researchers
TRANSPORT: EU air traffic controllers warn of risk of closure of Bosnia-Herzegovina airspace
TRANSPORT: entries for 2025 ‘Excellence in Road Safety Awards’ now open