In the latest episode of our Today in the EU podcast, we are looking at how European elections have impacted French President Emmanuel Macron's policy choices. 

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Global Europe Brief, your weekly update on the EU from a global perspective. You can subscribe to receive our newsletter here. As the deadly Moscow attack shatters Vladimir Putin’s security promise to Russians, he’ll likely be looking for...

US President Joe Biden on Saturday (23 March) signed into law a $1.2 trillion spending package, keeping the US government funded through a fiscal year that began six months ago.

Russia said on Saturday (23 March) it had arrested all four gunmen suspected of carrying out a shooting massacre in a concert hall near Moscow, and President Vladimir Putin pledged to track down and punish those behind the attack.

A pro-EU former Slovak foreign minister scored a surprise victory in the first round of a presidential election on Saturday (23 March), setting up a run-off vote with a key ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Ukraine hopes to sign a deal in June to buy two nuclear reactors from Bulgaria as it seeks to compensate for the loss of its vast Russian-occupied six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant, the head of nuclear firm Energoatom said in an interview.

Slovakia will on Saturday (23 March) hold the first round of a presidential election that is a battle between the Central European country's Russia-leaning ruling camp and a pro-Ukraine opposition-backed candidate.

Gunmen opened fire at a Moscow concert hall on Friday (22 March) killing more than 60 people, wounding more than 100 and sparking an inferno, authorities said, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility.

Long subcontracting chains lock workers out of rights, and lock injustices in, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary Esther Lynch said during a debate on abusive subcontracting practices in Europe.

Defence ministers Boris Pistorius and Sébastien Lecornu shared major breakthroughs on bilateral defence collaboration on Friday (22 March), announcing that both countries will officially start developing a new tank as well as produce military equipment in Ukraine.

The European Commission presented on Friday (22 March) five pillars that will form the basis of an action plan to boost Europe's competitiveness in quantum computing, a rapidly growing technology that solves problems too complex for classical computers. 

Hungary’s last minute decision to withdraw support for the proposal means that the law’s future is uncertain. A planned vote during Monday’s (25 March) meeting of national environmental ministers is now postponed.

The European Commission proposed to increase tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grains and oilseeds imports to prevent the destabilisation of the EU market, the funding of Russian aggression against Ukraine and to try to defuse the protests on the Ukrainian-Polish border.

As we approach the European elections, competitiveness is the talk of the hour. And yet, with industrial competitiveness taking centre stage in economic policy debates, it is worth keeping in mind that rising carbon prices will make some industries even less competitive in the future – by design.

After numerous delays, the planned legalisation of cannabis consumption in Germany has passed its last major obstacle - the Bundesrat (Federal Council) and while future growers remain relaxed, they do anticipate further resistance on the local level.

Russia regards itself to be at war due to the West's intervention on Ukraine's side, the Kremlin said on Friday (22 March), shifting the language it uses to describe the conflict in an apparent move to prepare Russians for a longer and harder struggle.

.Ireland, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain said on Friday (22 March) they are ready to recognise the state of Palestine as the “only way to achieve peace and security” in the war-ridden region.

Simon Harris, set to become Ireland's youngest ever taoiseach (prime minister), will hope his social media skills and fresh face can save his party's flagging fortunes as elections loom.

Welcome to Euractiv’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU.

Melons and tomatoes from the Western Sahara, the main crops in the contested territory, should be labelled as such and not as originating from Morocco, according to an opinion by Tamara Ćapeta, an advocate general at the EU’s top court, issued on Thursday (21 March).