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You will have faster and easier access to electronic health data, regardless of whether you are in your home country or another EU country, thanks to a new EU law. It will also allow certain data to be used for research and innovation, for the benefit of European patients.

Yamê from France won the Grand Jury Music Moves Europe Award at the Music Moves Europe Awards 2025 in the Netherlands. The 5 other winners were Kingfishr (Ireland), Naomi Sharon (Netherlands), Night Tapes (Estonia), UCHE YARA (Austria), Judeline (Spain).

The EU has announced a new €120 million aid package for Gaza as part of its long-standing commitment to support Palestinians in need. The aid package will include food, healthcare, sanitation, and shelter assistance. EU humanitarian aid to Gaza now totals over €450 million since 2023.

With more than 300 million people estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2025, the EU has announced a €1.9 billion humanitarian budget for 2025. The aid will broadly go to the Middle East, Ukraine, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific.

The EU is working to strengthen the cybersecurity of the healthcare sector. A new EU action plan focuses on improving threat detection, preparedness, and crisis response. It aims to provide tailored guidance, tools, services, and training to hospitals and healthcare providers.

The Copernicus Global Climate Highlights Report 2024 confirms 2024 as the warmest year on record and the first ever above 1.5°C annual average temperature. The European continent has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, becoming the fastest-warming continent on Earth.

On 12 January, new rules will come into force that will ensure that innovative and effective health technologies are available to patients across the EU. Under the new rules, national authorities can make more timely and informed decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of health technologies.

A new survey has found that support for the EU's common agricultural policy has reached an all-time high. 81% of respondents believe the policy secures a stable supply of food at all times and more than 70% agree that it helps the EU provide safe, healthy and sustainable food of high quality.

A new study has found that heating and cooling systems in buildings and our homes remain a major source of air pollution across the EU. The study says more must be done to accelerate the adoption of cleaner, more efficient, and renewable technologies in the sector.

Media organisations, NGOs, publishers, universities and research centres can submit their proposals by 1 March to organise 3 editions of a European media freedom festival. Worth €3 million, the festival will discuss media freedom, disinformation, and the safety of journalists in the EU.

A new directive, aiming for a more balanced gender representation on the board of listed companies in the EU, entered into application at the end of 2024. By June 2026, such companies will need to have 40% of the underrepresented sex among their non-executive directors and 33% among all directors.

Poland has assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the next 6 months. During its time at the helm, it will help shape the direction of EU policy and set the pace of the EU’s work. Its priority is to support activities strengthening European security in all its dimensions.

Thanks to the EU, you'll no longer need to spend time looking for the right charger because all new devices sold in the EU must now support USB-C charging. This will reduce the number of chargers you need to buy, help minimise electronic waste and simplify your everyday life.

From climate change to digital disruption, and global conflicts to humanitarian crises, 2024 was a year of significant events. Elections took place across the world, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the biggest EU enlargement, and more. Look back at the past year.

EU leaders gathered in Brussels to talk over the EU’s role in the world. Their focus was on Ukraine and on the situation in the Middle East, following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. They also exchanged on the situation in Moldova and Georgia, as well as on the latest progress on enlargement.

A new EU-approved Flight Emissions Label will be available to passengers from next summer, offering them a trustworthy methodology for calculating flight emissions. The label will protect passengers from misleading greenwashing claims made by airline operators.

The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2024 has been awarded to Venezuela’s Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado. They were praised for their pursuit of justice and democracy in Venezuela following contested presidential elections there in July.

The EU has signed off on new rules that will significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste. They set binding re-use targets, restrict certain types of single-use packaging and require economic operators to minimise the packaging used. The rules cover the full life cycle of packaging.

Newly adopted EU rules will help ensure drivers who break road traffic rules in another EU country will not go unpunished. The rules enhance cross-border cooperation among EU countries, streamline offender identification, and facilitate fine enforcement.