In case you have a driving licence in your wallet, you might want to dedicate some attention to Strasbourg this week, where the European Parliament is having its plenary.

With EU elections looming in 2024, reforming social media recommender systems is crucial to protect democratic discourse and the future of democracy, write Jan Nicola Beyer and Sofia Calabrese.

The European Union is expected to agree to seize Russian profits generated in the bloc, a key step to backing Ukraine that stops short of calls to confiscate assets outright, a Greek envoy told AFP on Monday (26 February).

The United States on Monday (26 February) cautioned Pacific Islands nations against assistance from Chinese security forces after reports that Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii.

Qatar's planned expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could see it control nearly 25% share of the global market by 2030 and squeeze out rival projects including in the United States where President Biden paused new export approvals, market experts say.

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US President Joe Biden said on Monday (26 February) he hopes to have a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza start by next Monday as the warring parties appeared to close in on a deal during negotiations in Qatar that also aim to broker the release of hostages.

The EU is considering defining post-consumer plastic waste as "plastic waste placed on the market of a Member State or a third country" - a definition which could threaten the entire recycling industry in Europe, write Lauriane Veillard and Joan Marc Simon.

Less than two weeks after Belgrade and Zagreb entered a spat over the burning of the effigy of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the carnival in Kaštela, Croatia, the diplomatic row continued over the weekend.

Only 10% of parents hosting Ukrainian refugee children in Romania can meet all their basic needs, while 26% can meet most of their needs, and 60% can meet only some or part of their needs, according to an analysis carried out by Save the Children Association throughout February.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was "killed" because he was close to being freed in a prisoner swap and President Vladimir Putin could not tolerate the thought of him being released, a close ally alleged on Monday (26 February).

The European Parliament's plan to use TikTok in campaigning for the June EU elections, despite prior cybersecurity bans, raises questions about its secure implementation as specifics regarding the Parliament's approach remain undisclosed.

Hungary’s now ex-president Katalin Novák, embroiled in a pardon scandal, officially ceased to be head of state when the country’s parliament accepted her resignation and immediately elected her successor.

Implementation of Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan could be delayed by a general election result that either force prolonged negotiations or create political instability, rating agency DBRS warned on Monday.

The farmers' protests in Brussels mean nothing if lawmakers fail to follow up with concrete EU regulation, Luís Mira, secretary-general of the Portuguese Farmers' Confederation, said in response to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech laying out a “set of intentions”.

The survey on living conditions published on Monday by the state-run National Statistics Institute (INE) presented negative trends while also revealing somewhat optimistic information.

The Emir of Qatar, Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, will make his first visit to Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.

The Danish investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 explosions has been closed, the Danish authorities announced on Monday, less than a month after Sweden did the same, but gave no details as to why.

South Korean company Hyundai appears to be the favourite to build units VII and VIII of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, which is set to become the largest nuclear project in south-east Europe after the Bulgarian parliament ensured that competition was eliminated.

The upcoming election for a new regional governor in Sardinia on Sunday is likely to have repercussions at a national level, as both centre-right and centre-left candidates are currently neck-and-neck.