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The Digital Services Act regulates online services in the EU with the goal of creating a safer digital space where our fundamental rights are protected. Find out how it positively impacts our lives, how it is enforced, and what happens when platforms fail to comply with its rules.

The winners of the 2025 EU Contest for Young Scientists come from Canada (Evan Budz), Czechia (Anna Černá), Poland (Antoni Łuczak) and Sweden (Dani Zuhair). The contest picks Europe’s most promising young scientists to help them advance their scientific career. The Jury Prize went to Georgia.

The Commission presented a proposal to suspend certain trade-related provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and to sanction extremist ministers and violent settlers. It also proposed to further sanction Hamas.

Some 51 million of the working-age population are currently outside the EU labour market, with women, people aged 55–64, migrants, and persons with disabilities making up the vast majority. A new report says enabling their access to the labour market would help tackle EU skills and labour shortages.

On 13 and 14 September, you can visit thousands of cultural sites across Europe for free as part of this year’s European Heritage Days. The theme of the 2025 initiative is architectural heritage. Everyone is invited to take part in the guided tours, exhibitions, workshops, and performances on offer.

The EU is providing an extra €40 million in humanitarian funding to help Ukrainians endure a fourth winter of Russia's war of aggression. This new support, which includes shelter materials and solid fuels, will strengthen the country's preparedness for winter and protect civilians against the cold.

Members of the European Parliament have condemned Israel’s humanitarian blockade causing famine in Gaza in a new resolution. They also demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

“This must be Europe’s independence moment,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her 2025 State of the Union speech, stressing that Europe must be able to take care of its own defence and security. She also spoke about Ukraine, Gaza and competitiveness and the single market.

By the end of June 2025, EU countries received 399 000 asylum applications, a 23% decrease compared to the first half of 2024. This shift was driven by far fewer Syrians (25 000) applying. However, applications by Venezuelans (49 000) rose by almost a third.

Ukraine has opened its first railway line based on the EU standard for track width. It marks a significant step in the country’s transport integration with the EU. The new 22-km railway line will prevent delays caused by the previous need to change trains at the EU-Ukraine border.

People across the EU want action to address inflation, the cost of living, energy prices, the housing crisis and the growing impact of extreme weather events. Discover what the Commission has been doing to meet these challenges ahead of President von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech next week.

Europe's supercomputer, JUPITER, has become the first European system to achieve the exascale threshold. It means that it is performing more than one quintillion (10¹⁸) operations per second, a computing power level comparable to aggregating the computing capabilities of 1 million new smartphones.

Europol coordinated a joint action between Brazilian and Irish police authorities against a criminal network involved in human trafficking for sexual exploitation of victims originating from South America. The mainly Brazilian criminal network was active in Ireland and across several EU countries.

A new survey reveals that 56% of EU citizens are in favour of further EU enlargement. Support is particularly high among young people with around 66% of respondents aged 15 to 39 in favour. A majority (56%) also believe their own country would benefit from future enlargement.

Following the strong earthquake that hit north-eastern Afghanistan, the EU has approved €1 million in humanitarian emergency funding to address the most urgent needs of the affected population. The EU will also donate around 130 tonnes of relief supplies such as tents, clothes, and medical supplies.

The European Commission has tabled two proposals to help implement the 21 August EU-US Joint Statement. They eliminate tariffs on US industrial goods and provide preferential market access to US seafood, among other measures. This will ensure tariff relief by the US for the EU automotive sector.

A new wave of projects has secured funding as part of the EU's mission to restore our ocean and waters. €116 million will go towards 13 projects that will deliver benefits not only to ocean and waters in the EU and beyond, but also the communities that rely on them.

During the past week, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to help deal with forest fires – many of which are occurring simultaneously across Europe.

Follow Sven, Elena and Sofia as they embark on an exciting trip across Europe and discover the benefits the EU brings to your daily life. From study opportunities and ticket compensation claims to using your phone abroad and the euro, there’s all sorts of ways the EU improves your life. Read on.