This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission preliminarily found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act for the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook. The investigation focuses on features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the platforms’ highly personalised recommender systems. Risk assessment The […]Commission preliminarily finds the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook in breach of the Digital Services Act
July 13, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission preliminarily found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act for the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook. The investigation focuses on features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the platforms’ highly personalised recommender systems. Risk assessment The […]UN chief urges Iran and US to ‘urgently resume negotiations’ as Gulf strikes escalate
July 13, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. Renewed strikes and counterstrikes between Iran and the United States in the Gulf region have raised fears of a return to all‑out war, with Washington denying Tehran’s claim that it had closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The US said it had struck around 140 […]Commission opens formal investigation into possible gun jumping in XXXLutz’s acquisition of Porta
July 13, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether, in the context of the proposed acquisition by XXXLutz of Porta, the parties may have engaged in gun jumping, which would be in breach of the EU Merger Regulation. EU merger rules require […]Humanitarian aid: the EU must condemn violations of international humanitarian law
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution on the recently-published joint communication on humanitarian aid. MEPs adopted the resolution on the joint communication on humanitarian aid by a show of hands. The plenary resolution follows the publication by the European […]Combating child sexual abuse online: support for more limited ePrivacy derogation
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Thursday, Parliament adopted amendments to a privacy exemption allowing electronic communication services to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse. In today’s vote on a derogation from ePrivacy rules for the purpose of detecting child sexual abuse online, MEPs adopted amendments to the Council position. […]Digital euro: MEPs ready to start negotiations
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Thursday, plenary backed talks with the Council on a digital euro proposal that would offer citizens a secure way to reduce reliance on non-EU providers. With 416 votes in favour, 169 against and 22 abstentions for the creation of a digital euro, and […]July infringements package: key decisions
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has accepted commitments from SAP to address EU competition concerns relating to its aftermarket support services for on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. These commitments are now legally binding under EU antitrust rules. More specifically, SAP will: The Commission’s preliminary concerns […]Commission accepts binding commitments by SAP to address competition concerns about services for its popular business management software
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has accepted commitments from SAP to address EU competition concerns relating to its aftermarket support services for on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. These commitments are now legally binding under EU antitrust rules. More specifically, SAP will: The Commission’s preliminary concerns […]Peak heat in Europe just broke historic 1970s records
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. This year marks the hottest June recorded for Western Europe and the second warmest globally, according to the latest report from a climate tracking service released on Thursday. “Heatwaves like this are what we expect to see in a changing climate,” said John Kennedy, head of climate […]Diplomats go virtual to witness Gaza displacement site up close
July 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. Representatives from 12 countries carried out a “virtual diplomatic field visit” to a displacement site in the Gaza Strip and heard from some of the residents about their pressing needs, the United Nations said on Thursday. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Ramiz Alakbarov, and his […]Srebrenica survivors warn of genocide denial while safeguarding memory of the dead
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. Three survivors of a genocide which took place in Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina inJuly 1995 have told UN News how they are keeping alive the memory of the more than 8,300 men and boys who were killed in the town while combating the rising current of […]Commission decides to refer Spain to the Court of Justice over recognition of professional qualifications
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to align its rules with the Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC), which ensures that fully qualified professionals can have their […]Commission decides to refer Greece to the Court of Justice over discriminatory employment conditions for teachers in public schools
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission decided to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to bring its national legislation fully in line with the Directive on fixed-term work (Council Directive 1999/70/EC), which prohibits discrimination against fixed-term workers. Greek […]Commission decides to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose the Directive on certain aspects of the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose the Directive as regards certain aspects of the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (Directive (EU) 2024/1174). This Directive amends certain […]Commission refers Ireland, Spain, France and the Netherlands to the Court of Justice for failing to transpose the rules on cybersecurity
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission decided to refer Ireland, Spain, France and the Netherlands to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to notify measures transposing the NIS2 Directive on securing network and information systems (Directive (EU) 2022/2555) into national law. The […]Commission refers Romania to the Court of Justice of the EU for failure to pay pharmacies on time
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission decided to refer Romania to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to ensure that the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) pays pharmacy operators within the deadlines set by the Late Payment Directive (Directive 2011/7/EU). The […]Commission decides to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU for imposing price margin restrictions for the sale of food products and drugstore articles
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for imposing price margin restrictions which mainly affect non-Hungarian undertakings. Hungary limited the margin between purchase prices and sales prices of products to such a low […]US-Iran war: Renewed attacks in Strait of Hormuz prompts another global energy alert
July 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. Renewed attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz unsettled energy markets on Wednesday and prompted calls from the UN maritime agency, IMO, for “maximum restraint and de-escalation”. Amid reports that three merchant vessels were hit along with Iranian targets, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned “reckless attacks” […]Commission sets the direction for prosperous livestock sector and a self-sufficient protein system
July 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission adopted the Livestock Strategy to ensure Europe’s valuable livestock sector remains strong and resilient in the long term. The Strategy, the first of its kind, sets out actions to help livestock farmers address economic, environmental and market challenges. This long-term […]Commission issues €11 billion in its seventh syndicated transaction of 2026
July 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has raised €11 billion of EU-Bonds in its 7th syndicated transaction for 2026. The dual-tranche transaction concerned a €6 billion new 5-year EU-Bond maturing on 13 October 2031, and a €5 billion tap of the 20-year EU-Bond maturing on 12 October […]Commission presents EU Action Plan on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence
July 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has presented an Action Plan for a structured response to address the risks and harness the opportunities of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models for cybersecurity. New advanced AI models are redefining cybersecurity. AI can be misused to identify vulnerabilities, automate attacks […]When AI hurts people, who’s to blame? Global experts grapple with accountability
July 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. Who is legally responsible when Artificial Intelligence causes harm? The issue took centre stage on Tuesday – day two of the first ever UN summit on AI governance, where leading experts warned of mounting evidence of human rights violations linked to the revolutionary technology. “Across 11 Global […]EU aid for Spain, Romania and Cyprus to tackle recent natural disasters
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Tuesday, plenary voted in favour of channelling €144.1 million in EU funds to support Spain, Romania and Cyprus after devastating wildfires, floods and heatwaves in 2025. By 642 votes to 13, and with one abstention, MEPs backed the proposed release from the European […]European Parliament achieves upgrade to air passenger rights
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Faster and simpler compensation process for delayed flights, fee-free child seating and air fares inclusive of carry-on luggage will become part of EU air passenger rulebook. On Tuesday, MEPs confirmed the changes to air passenger rights rules agreed with the Council of the EU […]Fertiliser prices: MEPs approve support for farmers
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Tuesday, Parliament adopted measures designed to alleviate the impact on EU farmers of rising fertiliser prices. MEPs decided to fast-track the changes to the EU common agricultural policy (CAP)asproposed by the Commission, to ensure farmersget aidin time tobuy fertilisers for the nextgrowingseason. To […]MEPs debate Irish Presidency priorities with Taoiseach Micheál Martin
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Tuesday, Micheál Martin set out Ireland’s priorities: to enhance EU competitiveness, values, and security, under the banner of “strength with unity”. Welcoming Ireland’s Taoiseach, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said, “We are entering a critical six months for our continent. With the Irish […]Venezuela quake: UN continues to scale up as damage estimate reaches $37 billion
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN and its partners are ramping up assistance for people affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela, working alongside the Government’s response effort, as a new UN estimate puts direct physical damage at $37 billion. “We and our partners are continuing to scale up assistance to impacted […]Venezuela quake: UN continues to scale up as damage estimate reaches $37 billion
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN and its partners are ramping up assistance for people affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela, working alongside the Government’s response effort, as a new UN estimate puts direct physical damage at $37 billion. “We and our partners are continuing to scale up assistance to impacted […]MEPs strengthen the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism and close loopholes
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Environment Committee MEPs have backed extending the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism to downstream goods and setting up a fund to support industry’s low-carbon transition. The Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety adopted its position on proposed changes to the CBAM by […]Occupied Palestinian Territory: Aid restrictions in Gaza, ‘senseless’ infant deaths in the West Bank
July 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. Ongoing restrictions and closures of border crossings continue to hamper delivery of critical supplies into the Gaza Strip, amid mounting concern for children there and in the West Bank, the United Nations said on Monday. UN teams in Gaza continued to collect food and fuel from the Kerem […]Europe’s raw materials ambitions need industrial investment
July 6, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Economic and Social Committee. Europe will need significantly more investment if it wants to secure the critical raw materials required for its green, digital and defence transitions, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) warned in an opinion adopted at its June plenary session. The […]Heat, Flood, Fire: The Climate Crisis and the Body
July 6, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Sadia Khalid, a Scientist-Physician (MBBS, MD) at Tallinn University of Technologye. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on […]Sudan’s people subject to ‘relentless’ drone strikes in El Obeid
July 6, 2026 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. The war in Sudan threatens to spiral further as the strategically-important town of El Obeid continues to face “relentless” drone attacks by advancing paramilitary militias, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, said on Friday. Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, he called for urgent […]
