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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13914
Contents Publication in full By article 39 / 41
NEWS BRIEFS / Russia

Still no agreement among EU Member States on 21st package of sanctions

22/07/2026 (Agence Europe) – The ambassadors of the EU Member States failed, on Wednesday 22 July, to reach agreement on the 21st package of sanctions against Russia. Technical work and consultations were conducted throughout the day by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU in order to find a consensus. However, the issue of the transport of liquefied natural gas would still appear to be causing problems. The ambassadors are meeting again on Thursday 23 July in the morning to reach agreement on this package of measures. The extension of the cap on the price of Russian oil at $44.10 a barrel expires this Thursday (see EUROPE 13910/2). (CG)

Contents

SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EMPLOYMENT
SOCIAL: ‘AI’ at work, access to employment, inequalities - Commission targets new areas for action before tenth anniversary of European Pillar of Social Rights
SOCIAL: directive on carcinogens, mutagens, and reprotoxic substances - Member States give green light to agreement reached with European Parliament
EXTERNAL ACTION
ISRAEL: no agreement among EU Member State ambassadors on decision to ban products from settlements
OMAN: EU to open delegation in Muscat
KOSOVO: EU believes decision to accept resignations of Kosovo Serb judges and prosecutors “appears incompatible with the law”
UNITED STATES: BusinessEurope and U.S. Chamber of Commerce call for “broadly aligned” transatlantic policy towards China
TRADE: Washington threatens to impose 100% tariffs on generic medicines in 2028 and announces new surcharges
INSTITUTIONAL
BUDGET: MFF 2028-2034 - Irish Presidency of EU Council plans final bilateral talks with Member States before summer break
BUDGET: MFF 2028-2034 - Kyriakos Pierrakakis’ idea of own resource from auctions of telecoms spectrum is far from achieving consensus
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: European Commission appoints three new heads of representation, three principal legal advisers and one director
SECTORAL POLICIES
COMPETITIVENESS: European Commission publishes practical guidance to help authorities not only reward lowest price under Net-Zero Industry Act
RESEARCH: Member States discuss ways to facilitate circulation of scientific innovation in EU
DIGITAL: Microsoft and Mistral announce partnership to strengthen cloud capacity in Europe and integrate Mistral’s AI models into Microsoft
DIGITAL: France becomes first EU country to ban under-15s from accessing social media
FOOD SAFETY: EFSA lowers safe exposure threshold for trifluoroacetic acid by 3.5 times
AGRICULTURE: amendments to Norbert Lins’s draft report highlight political divides over direct payments
PLANTS: European project BeXyl unveils new tools to combat Xylella fastidiosa
FISHERIES: European Commission removes redundant measures in a protected area of Baltic Sea
TRANSPORT/CLIMATE: revision of ETS - aviation sector highly critical and maritime industry divided over extension of scope
HOME AFFAIRS: EU–US talks on visa exemption - civil society concerned about “serious interference” in protection of personal data
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
ECONOMY: deficit at -3.1% of GDP and public debt at 88.9% of GDP in euro area in first quarter of 2026
FINANCE: financial supervision - ESMA notes progress in supervision of cross-border investment services in six EU countries
SECURITY - DEFENCE - SPACE
SPACE: Poland joins IRIS² programme
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: to combat age-related discrimination, European Parliament study supports introduction of European senior citizen card
WAR IN MIDDLE EAST
ENERGY: IEA director concerned about renewed escalation of conflict in Middle East for global oil supply
NEWS BRIEFS
AGRICULTURE: new Hungarian wine protected by an EU designation of origin
ECB: Boris Kisselevsky appointed head of Frankfurt institute’s Secretariat
ECONOMY: EU Council approves UK participation in EU loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027
ECONOMY: EU Council invited to adopt revision of post-Covid-19 recovery plans of six Member States
ENERGY: ‘methane’ regulation - NGO CAN Europe concerned about “giving free pass to gas imports” following Commission recommendations
FINANCE: EU Council nominates Carlo Comporti as ESMA president
FINANCE: ESMA calls for preparations for move to ‘T+1’ settlement cycle in EU
JUSTICE: European Public Prosecutor’s Office obtains conviction of ten defendants in €100 million VAT fraud case
JUSTICE: European Public Prosecutor’s Office seizes €20 million in investigation into suspected Recovery and Resilience Facility fraud
MIGRATION: Commission refuses to register ‘Save Europe Act’ European citizens’ initiative for breach of non-discrimination principle
DIGITAL: participation of Russia - European Commission confirms decision to end €2 million grant awarded to Biennale
DIGITAL: European Commission registers European citizens’ initiative ‘Stop Killing The Internet: No Digital ID & No Age Verification’
CSDP: Gail Van Hoever’s term as head of EUAM RCA mission extended until 7 November 2026
RUSSIA: still no agreement among EU Member States on 21st package of sanctions
SECURITY: European Commission sets up Security College Secretariat within its Secretariat-General, headed by Ilkka Salmi
MARITIME SECURITY: operation EUNAVFORMED Irini boards ship suspected of being part of Russian ‘shadow fleet’