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The EU institutions will open their doors over the next week to celebrate Europe Day, which this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. You can discover their work and engage in entertaining activities. Many events will also take place in EU countries and around the world.

New figures reveal that Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme, is a major driver of economic and societal benefits. For every euro of costs to EU society, the programme is expected to generate up to six euros in benefits for EU citizens by 2045.

Europol has launched a taskforce to tackle the rising trend of organised crime networks hiring youngsters to carry out threats, assaults, or killings for a fee. The taskforce brings together police from 8 European countries with Europol providing operational support and coordination.

The tenfold surge of reported measles cases and the detection of vaccine-derived poliovirus in four European countries in 2024 clearly show we need to maintain high immunisation coverage to protect lives. European Immunisation Week stresses the vital role immunisation plays to prevent diseases.

The European Commission has put forward new rules that will help improve EU road safety. They will bring in periodic technical inspections for electric vehicles, digital vehicle registration and advanced emission testing methods to detect high-emitting vehicles to cut fine particles pollution.

The latest State of Schengen report shows that the Schengen area has brought profound benefits to the EU and its citizens in the last 40 years. The full entry of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area in early 2025 strengthened the EU economy and Schengen rules are well applied across the area.

The European Commission has found that US technology firms Apple and Meta have breached certain obligations laid down in the EU’s Digital Markets Act. They have been fined €500 million and €200 million respectively.

This Earth Day sees the launch of the third edition of the global campaign #ForOurPlanet. Focusing on ‘circular economy: beyond recycling’, the campaign calls on all interested organisations to act for our planet, from composting coffee grounds to local repair cafes. Find out how to get involved.

The EU has issued a list of products that should be prioritised to introduce eco-design requirements and energy labelling over the next five years. The list includes steel, aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres and mattresses as well as consumer electronics and small household appliances.

The European rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products recorded more than 4000 alerts in 2024. Cosmetics (36%) remain the most frequently reported products posing health risks, followed by toys (15%), electrical appliances (10%), motor vehicles (9%) and chemical products (6%).

The European State of the Climate Report finds that Europe was the fastest-warming continent in 2024. It also notes that there were record-high numbers of extreme heat days and tropical nights, as well as widespread flooding. The report calls for urgent action to increase climate resilience.

The EU is investing €86 million in several projects in the EU and Iceland that will work on water quality and availability, cleaning up polluted rivers, improving fire and flood protection, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Their work will help Europe become a climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Around 12% of Europe’s population live near rivers prone to flooding. Find out more about an EU project that is helping to protect communities in Slovakia and Poland from flash floods by installing smart sensors to monitor water levels, soil conditions and atmospheric factors in real time.

The EU has paused its countermeasures on unjustified US trade tariffs to allow time and space for EU-US negotiations. This puts on hold for up to 90 days the planned countermeasures against US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium imports, in response to the US delaying its so-called reciprocal tariffs.

The EU has announced a €1.6 billion programme to help support the Palestinian people. Over 2 years, it will assist the Palestinian authority in continuing to provide services to the people, support economic recovery and resilience in the West Bank and Gaza, and invest in the private sector.

New toy safety rules have been agreed that will help protect children’s health by reducing risks posed by hazardous chemicals in toys and ensuring better labelling, including in online retail. They also enable the European Commission to react more quickly to scientific findings on chemical products.

Parkinson's disease affects more than one million people in the EU. On World Parkinson’s Day, discover more about an EU-funded project that is advancing Parkinson’s disease diagnosis and care through AI and digital biomarkers from everyday devices, such as smartphones and smart watches.

The Commission presented the artificial intelligence continent action plan, which will shape the next phase of AI in Europe. From building AI infrastructure to strengthening AI skills and talents, it will promote the development and deployment of AI solutions that benefit society and the economy.

New rules have been agreed on that will help prevent the loss of plastic pellets – the industrial raw materials used to make plastic products – into the environment. They set new obligations at all stages of the plastic pellet supply chain, both on land and sea, and will help cut plastic pollution.