European Union

L'Ukraine envisage d'adopter une loi qui interdirait de fait aux étrangers de recourir à la maternité de substitution dans le pays.

Bernhard H. soll 2016 versucht haben, seine Ehefrau Brigitte zu töten. Anlässlich seiner Berufung vor dem Bundesgericht äussert er sich zum ersten Mal.

Die Irritation im Lausanner Stadtparlament war gross: Ein Linkspolitiker gab zu, im öffentlichen Nahverkehr jeden Tag zu betrügen. Seit Jahren fahre er schwarz. Es ist nicht das erste Mal, dass Loris Socchi unangenehm auffällt.

Ein bewaffneter Mann überfiel am Donnerstagnachmittag das Coop-Geschäft im Perry Center Oftringen AG. Er bedrohte Mitarbeitende, forderte Geld und flüchtete zu Fuss. Die Polizei fahndet nach dem schwarz gekleideten, maskierten Täter mit weissen Turnschuhen.

Ein dritter Brite hat sich nach dem Verlassen des Kreuzfahrtschiffs «MV Hondius» auf St. Helena mit dem Hantavirus infiziert. Am Wochenende soll das Kreuzfahrtschiff auf den Kanaren anlegen.

Der Hantavirus-Ausbruch sorgt weltweit für Wirbel. Viele Fragen sind offen. Was ist bisher bekannt? Das Protokoll.

Written by Anna Flynn.

The annual Europe Day celebrations mark the anniversary of what is widely regarded as the founding act of the European Union. 

After World War II, coal and steel were considered indispensable due to their role in economic growth and defence. Head of the French Planning Committee, Jean Monnet, and French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, believed that pooling these resources would not only be financially strategic, but would consolidate European peace and unity.

Schuman presented this concept during a press conference on 9 May 1950 at the Quai d’Orsay. The text, known as the Schuman Declaration; outlined that ‘solidarity in production’ would make another war ‘not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible’.  It stated that ‘world peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.’

In April 1951, Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed the Treaty of Paris, which created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). After entering into force in 1952, the ECSC facilitated a common market and freedom of movement of coal and steel between the six signatories. Notably, this was the first supranational organisation in Europe.

The ECSC was comprised of a High Authority that had decision-making competencies (the foundation of what is currently the European Commission), as well as a Special Council of Ministers, a Court of Justice, and a Consultative Committee.

The ECSC was also supported by a Common Assembly, which had 78 members (selected by national parliaments), supervisory power, and the right to dismiss the High Authority.

As the ECSC Common Assembly had the autonomy to write its rules of procedures, it unanimously decided, at its plenary session in June 1953, to allow the creation of political groups. With this decision, it became the world’s first international assembly organised in political groups (other international assemblies established after World War II were largely structured by grouping nations).

In 1958, the Common Assembly was renamed the European Parliamentary Assembly, , and Schuman was elected as its President.

Now, 76 years later, it is the European Parliament’s 10th legislative term; and it is made up of 720 Members across eight political groups; representing over 450 million citizens in 27 Member States. Between 2014 and 2019, 396 proposals were presented under the ordinary legislative procedure, all of which involved Parliament.

The peace, strength and unity, and integration that Robert Schuman championed several decades ago are values that continue to characterise the EU’s priorities and actions today. From an initiative to integrate industry to the world’s largest supranational democracy, the 9 May celebrations commemorate the inception of an idea that changed Europe forever.

Links:

• Robert Schuman
• Schuman Declaration, May 1950
• The ECSC Common Assembly’s decision to create political groups Writing a new chapter in transnational parliamentary history
• Impact of the ECSC Common Assembly on the politics, negotiation and content of the Rome Treaties
• Happy Birthday European Union: Europe Day, 9 May

Wer Tee traditionell aufbrüht und regelmässig in moderaten Mengen trinkt, kann sein Risiko für Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen, Diabetes und bestimmte Krebsarten senken. Entscheidend ist die Zubereitung.

Der Vulkan Dukono brach am Freitagmorgen aus und schleuderte eine riesige Aschesäule in den Himmel. Es gibt vermisste und verletzte Wanderer, drei Menschen kamen ums Leben.

On trouve du sel dans presque toutes les cuisines. Mais comment cet ingrédient en apparence si simple est-il devenu l'exhausteur de goût préféré au monde ?

African and European parliamentarians will meet in Eswatini from 12 to 14 May to discuss possible ways to cooperate on security, youth policy and critical raw materials.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

African and European parliamentarians will meet in Eswatini from 12 to 14 May to discuss possible ways to cooperate on security, youth policy and critical raw materials.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Written by David De Groot

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered a landmark judgment in case Commission v. Hungary, concerning Hungary’s 2021 law restricting access to LGBTI-related content.

Introduction

The EU has considerable leverage over candidate countries that backslide on the conditions for accession (the Copenhagen Criteria), including respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. However, once a country has joined the EU, the EU institutions have far fewer tools to respond should Member States backslide on core values. This problem is often referred to as the Copenhagen Dilemma. In Repubblika (Case C-896/19), the CJEU found a connection between Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) (on accession) and Article 2 TEU, which sets out the EU’s founding values.

The CJEU ruled that Member States may not lower the level of protection of EU values following accession, thereby establishing the principle of non-regression.

Building on that case law, on 21 April 2026, the CJEU delivered its judgment in Commission v. Hungary (Case C-769/22). The judgment is a landmark ruling: the Court found, for the first time, both a breach of Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) (on human dignity), and a self-standing breach of Article 2 TEU (on values of the EU).

Background

On 15 June 2021, the Hungarian Parliament adopted Act LXXIX of 2021 on ‘tougher action against paedophile offenders and amending certain laws to protect children’ (the ‘Propaganda Law’), which curtailed LGBTI+ content, in particular its availability to minors, by introducing Section 6/A into the Child Protection Act.

On 15 July 2021, the Commission launched an infringement procedure concerning the contested act. One year later, on 15 July 2022, the Commission decided to bring the case before the CJEU; the case was formally lodged on 19  December 2022.

In its action against Hungary, the European Commission alleged violations of the Services, Audiovisual Media Services and e-Commerce Directives, as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Additionally, it alleged a self-standing infringement of Article 2 TEU.

The hearing took place on 19 November 2024, with the CJEU sitting as a full court, reflecting the exceptional importance it assigned to the case.

On 5 June 2025, Advocate General Ćapeta issued her opinion, in which she agreed with the Commission, considering that Article 2 TEU imposes certain ‘red lines’, which are determined by the ‘negation of the values’ laid down in Article 2.

Judgment

In its judgment of 21 April 2026, the CJEU considered that the secondary legislation mentioned in the Commission’s action had been violated, as had Articles 1 (on human dignity), 7 (on private and family life), 11 (on freedom of expression) and 21 (on non-discrimination) of the CFR. Concerning Article 1 CFR – the violation of which marked a first – the Court considered that ‘that association [with paedophilia] and that stigmatisation entail a group of persons forming an integral part of a society in which pluralism prevails being treated as a threat to that society meriting special legal treatment, which results in such persons’ social ”invisibility” being established, maintained, or reinforced, in breach of Article 1 of the Charter’ (para. 489).

Concerning Article 2 TEU, the Court first considered, hinting at the Copenhagen Dilemma, that ‘compliance by a Member State with the values contained in Article 2 TEU is a condition for the enjoyment of all the rights deriving from the application of the Treaties to that Member State. Compliance with those values cannot be reduced to an obligation which a candidate State must meet in order to accede to the European Union and which it may disregard after its accession’ (para. 523).

As to the types of violations capable of giving rise to a breach of Article 2 TEU, the Court held that:

only manifest and particularly serious breaches of one or more values common to the Member States may give rise to a finding, in the context of an action for failure to fulfil obligations, that there has been a failure by a Member State to fulfil legally binding obligations under Article 2 TEU, such breaches being incompatible with the very identity of the Union as a common legal order of a society in which pluralism prevails. (para. 551)

In the case at hand, the Court held that the contested act:

results in the stigmatisation and marginalisation of non-cisgender or non-heterosexual persons, solely on the ground of their gender identity or sexual orientation, with those consequences being intensified by the fact that that law also makes an association between the fact of not being cisgender or not being heterosexual, on the one hand, and being convicted of paedophilia, on the other, suggesting that non-cisgender or non-heterosexual persons constitute a fundamental threat to Hungarian and European society, an association which is capable of encouraging the development of hateful conduct towards those persons. (para. 554)

The Court continued that

Such stigmatisation and marginalisation, which is tantamount to establishing, maintaining or reinforcing the social ”invisibility” of some members of society, runs counter to the values of respect for human dignity, equality, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as referred to in Article 2 TEU. (para. 555)

The Court, therefore, concluded that

it must be held that the [contested Act] is in breach, in a way that is both manifest and particularly serious, of the rights of non-cisgender persons – including transgender persons – or non-heterosexual persons, as well as the values of respect for human dignity, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as referred to in Article 2 TEU, with the result that it is contrary to the very identity of the Union as a common legal order in a society in which pluralism prevails. (para. 556)

Outlook

The judgment – while ruling that it is indeed possible to establish a stand-alone infringement of Article 2 TEU without a necessary connection with other Treaty provisions – still leaves many questions as to the circumstances under which such a finding can be made.

In March 2025, Section 6/A of the Child Protection Act, introduced by the contested act, was linked to the Act on the Right of Assembly, which prohibits any public events that portray ‘divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality’. This was considered a Pride ban. In line with the judgment, such a prohibition would also constitute a breach of Article 2 TEU.

In a joint statement, the Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, and the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, stated that discrimination has no place in the EU. They ‘warmly welcome the ruling. Ours is a Union of Equality, where you can be who you are and love who you want’.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Hungary’s anti-LGBTI law and EU values: The CJEU’s landmark Article 2 TEU judgment‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The agreement between EU co-legislators aims to make it easier for providers to comply with the AI Act, while maintaining its main provisions and risk-based approach.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The agreement between EU co-legislators aims to make it easier for providers to comply with the AI Act, while maintaining its main provisions and risk-based approach.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Healthy soils teeming microbes are the foundations of resilient, sustainable and global food production ecosystems. Credit: Fabiola Ortiz/IPS

By Esther Ngumbi
URBANA, Illinois, US, May 6 2026 (IPS)

A newly published review in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment has revealed disturbing statistics on the growing environmental threats posed by global food production. The global food system, designed to feed and nourish humanity, is now a major contributor to climate change via greenhouse gas emissions, and the largest driver of freshwater depletion, biodiversity loss, and nutrient pollution.

Alarmingly, this new review brings attention to a concerning cruel twist and a deeper problem manifested through feedback loops between environmental change pressures including climate change and global food production.

In this vicious hard to break feedback loop, farmers are forced to use more inputs including fertilizers and toxic pesticides to sustain high yields, which in turn ruins and further compromises the environment while making food production harder in the long term.

In this vicious hard to break feedback loop, farmers are forced to use more inputs including fertilizers and toxic pesticides to sustain high yields, which in turn ruins and further compromises the environment while making food production harder in the long term

The central question then becomes: How do we break these vicious feedback loops that threaten to undermine our global food system in the longer term? What specific foundational strategies stand a chance of reducing environmental pressures and improving global food systems and agricultural production resillience?

First and foremost, the foundations for breaking this cruel cycle begin in the soil, by investing in revitalizing and improving the health of soils and agricultural lands that power global food production. Healthy soils teeming microbes are the foundations of resilient, sustainable and global food production ecosystems.

Healthy soils store and filter water and cycle nutrients, support the growth of nutritious food while simultaneously helping agricultural crop plants to cope with water stress, combat diseases and pests, and use nutrients more effectively, reducing the need for additional inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.

Convincingly, smart investments channeled towards improving soil health and soil microbiome can help farmers and food producers to produce more and healthy crops with less, limit environmental damage and simultaneously break the emerging feedback loops between global food production and environmental damage.

The good news is that improving and building soil health and soil microbiomes is a top priority for many stakeholders involved in food production in the United States and around the world including farmers, researchers, governments, philanthropists, non-governmental  and non-profit organizations, research funding agencies, the African Union and the United Nations.

Excitingly, adoption of several sustainable regenerative  practices including cover cropping, crop rotation, conservation tillage, planting diverse crops, integrating livestock and agroforestry, alongside with inoculation of soils with microbes including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can improve soil health and quality, improving biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and extend soil longevity beyond 10,000 years. Moreover,  research is confirming that these strategies do indeed work.

Second, another intervention that can reduce environmental decline while improving global food production is investing in innovative  climate-smart agriculture and precision agriculture practices. Scientific evidence has shown that adopting these practices can sustain global food production while limiting environmental harm.

Complementing and accompanying these foundational strategies is the urgent need to prioritize breeding and developing  multi-stress and stress-resilient crops and integrating stress resilient traits from wild relatives of domesticated crops.

Additionally,  multi-stress and climate-resilient crops can be grown alongside other annual and perennial crop species while being integrated into broader sustainable and regenerative farming practices including agroforestry. Collectively, these practices can sustain food production while minimizing environmental harm, thereby breaking feedback loops.

Finally, these strategies must be paired with policies and incentives to ensure maximum adoption. Farmers who adopt regenerative and sustainable soil building, climate-smart, precision agriculture practices while planting stress resilient crops should be supported and rewarded.

Alongside policies and incentives, there is a need to ensure that farmers, who are central in global food production embrace and adopt these sustainable feedback loops breaking practices. Embracing these practices can improve agricultural productivity, resilience and efficiency.

Of course, it is critical to understand and be aware of the constraints that still hinder stakeholders in global food production including farmers from adopting these global food production and environmental pressures feedback loop breaking practices.

Feeding our growing world sustainably requires everyone to confront the vicious cycle of food production and environmental decline. Researchers, policymakers, governments, private businesses, civil society, and philanthropists must act with urgency.

We should view mitigation and adaptation as interconnected strategies to address the dual challenge of producing food while protecting the environmental systems that enable it. The most effective and sustainable solutions will strengthen agriculture and reduce environmental harm. Time is of the essence.

Esther Ngumbi, PhD is Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, African American Studies Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Press briefing ahead of the upcoming Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council will take place on 8 May 2026 at 12.00

Press briefing ahead of the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council and the Foreign Affairs (Defence) Council will take place on 8 May 2025 at 10.45. 

President Costa and President von der Leyen received letters of credence from thirteen new Ambassadors to the European Union.

The representatives of the governments of the member states today appointed a judge to the General Court.