European Union

The conflict in the Middle East is pushing up oil and gas prices. Threats from Iran have paralysed maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with tankers piling up on both sides. After deliveries from Qatar were suspended the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the Amsterdam stock exchange jumped from below 32 euros on Friday to more than 62 euros per megawatt hour on Tuesday. Europe's press looks at the short-, medium- and long-term consequences.

Dans l’optique d’étendre son réseau et de renforcer l’offre de transport national, la compagnie Domestic Airlines, filiale d’Air Algérie, a officialisé mardi l’ouverture de nouvelles […]

L’article Domestic Airlines étend son réseau : plusieurs nouvelles liaisons annoncées est apparu en premier sur .

Written by Ionel Zamfir

Despite strong political commitments to gender equality at EU and national level, women still remain politically under-represented at all levels of political power. In the European Parliament, as well as in national parliaments, governments and local assemblies, their share most often is under the symbolic 40 % mark. Moreover, after successive electoral cycles in which women’s share in representative assemblies had increased, this trend has slowed down or come to a halt. Progress has also been uneven among Member States, with women remaining markedly under-represented in some Member States.

Gender-balanced political representation is not only important for women and female politicians but also for political parties themselves and the rest of society. It increases trust in the political system and strengthens economic and political governance.

The EU has committed to achieving gender balance in political representation and participation in the EU; however, except for the European elections, its powers in the area remain limited mainly to soft action. It can support the specific actions to be taken by the EU institutions, national governments, political parties, civil society and the media, by issuing recommendations, facilitating the exchange of good practice or funding projects.

There is substantial evidence of the obstacles to women’s political participation and the means to overcome it. This picture is nevertheless not static, as new challenges emerge, particularly from mounting opposition to gender equality, as well as from digital technologies, most recently artificial intelligence, which can both empower women and discourage them.

This updates a March 2024 briefing by Ionel Zamfir.

Source: European Institute for Gender Equality (2025)

Read the complete briefing on ‘Women in politics in the EU: State of play in 2026‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Kyriakos Pierrakakis, President of the Eurogroup, is travelling to Luxembourg where he will give a keynote speech at the EIB Forum.

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/383 of 17 February 2026 amending Decision 2011/101/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Zimbabwe.

Braucht es noch Bewerbungsschreiben, wenn sie sowieso KI-generiert sind? Die Firmen sind gespalten. Doch noch fehlt eine valable Alternative.

[margin]Attend In-Person[/margin] [margin]Attend Virtually[/margin]The International Peace Institute (IPI), in partnership with UN Women and with the support of the Open Society Foundations, is cohosting a policy forum on “Care Policies and Women, Peace and Security.”

Remarks will begin at 1:15pm EDT

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Held in the context of the 70th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), and reflecting this year’s review theme on “women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls,” this side event will position care systems as a core enabler of the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda.

Building on UN Women’s newly launched global “Guidance Note on Addressing Care in Times of Conflict and Crisis,” the discussion will examine how unequal and unrecognized care responsibilities constrain women’s participation in peacebuilding, weaken social cohesion, and undermine recovery and sustaining peace outcomes.

The event will also launch a forthcoming IPI report, “Linking Local Care Initiatives in Latin America to Feminist Foreign Policy: Lessons Learned from Mexico City’s UTOPÍAS,” which examines how innovative local care policies can inform multilateral feminist policymaking and the implementation of feminist foreign policy.

The forum will bring together policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to reflect on how care can be better integrated into national action plans, feminist foreign policies, and broader peacebuilding frameworks, particularly drawing from experiences in the Global South.

The post Care Policies and Women, Peace and Security appeared first on International Peace Institute.

Wollen die Berner die europäischen Plätze in dieser Saison erreichen, ist ein Sieg gegen Luzern Pflicht. Sonst spitzt sich der Strichkampf weiter zu – das YB-Inside zum Sechs-Punkte-Spiel.