The Parliament Magazine

Europe's welfare state could be its secret weapon in the AI transition. But it also exposes a fundamental weakness. While Brussels sets the rules for AI and shapes industrial policy, it lacks the money and the policy levers over reskilling, labor markets and welfare systems needed to manage the technology's economic impact. Read the full story by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/eLiFbyI

Today, EU ministers are discussing how the Irish presidency will steer negotiations on the EU's long-term budget. Tsvetelina Kuzmanova, sustainable finance policy lead at Corporate Leaders Group Europe, argues that Europe is overlooking one of its biggest competitiveness challenges: investment in electrification, renewable energy and industrial transformation. While the U.S. and China are making major investments in electricity infrastructure, Europe "still struggles to translate this into budgetary priorities," Kuzmanova writes. Read the op-ed: buff.ly/qHyKtvP

The EU took a major step toward regulating social media for children on Monday, as a Commission-backed expert panel recommended an EU-wide minimum age of 13 for access to social media. But the proposals go far beyond an age limit, and could still leave room for stricter national bans, risking fragmentation across the EU's digital market while adding another potential source of tension in transatlantic tech relations. Read the full story by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/mZ7Wxnv

The European Parliament and Council have approved the recast Child Sexual Abuse Directive, updating it to address AI-generated material. Rather than being content that AI can easily detect, such material "is often indistinguishable from real abuse," MEP Jeroen Lenaers said in an op-ed. Lenaers argues that the new rules must avoid penalizing general-purpose AI or open AI technologies. Read the op-ed: buff.ly/0Gd0hqr

NATO's Ankara summit kept Trump onside — at least $50B in new contracts, a "Made in NATO" pitch, and a declaration crediting Europe with carrying more of the load. But the real test still lies ahead: a U.S. review of its military footprint in Europe. Our newsletter breaks it down: buff.ly/JHznLRa

One summit. Two stories. Trump opened NATO's Ankara gathering attacking European allies. He closed it praising the outcome. What changed? Defense spending, industry and a carefully managed summit. Read the full story on our website: buff.ly/bbiR8dq

Europe is importing Russian liquefied natural gas at record levels and European companies continue to assist in keeping the trade flowing — even as the EU aims to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027. While a ban on new short-term contracts is already in place, European buyers are still importing Russian LNG under long-term agreements. Meanwhile, Denmark's Fayard remains the only EU shipyard servicing the icebreaking LNG carriers transporting the fuel from Russia's Arctic projects to European ports. Read the full story by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/3dQeeBw

In April, Ukrainian forces captured a Russian position without a single casualty. Drones and unmanned ground vehicles carried out the operation. Kyiv's adoption of unmanned ground systems in response to Russia's full-scale invasion has shown that "autonomy is shaping war on European soil," Marc Wietfeld, CEO and co-founder of ARX Robotics, writes in a new op-ed. Brussels has recognized the growing importance of these systems and increased investment. But Wietfeld argues that the EU's regulatory framework is failing to keep pace with technological advances. Read more: buff.ly/PgmJOJL

Europe's yearslong battle over scanning for child sexual abuse material has taken another twist. The European Parliament is set to vote Thursday on extending an exemption that allows tech companies to scan platforms for the content. Read the full story by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/9gvh96p

Europe is importing Russian liquefied natural gas at record levels and European companies continue to assist in keeping the trade flowing — even as the EU aims to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027. While a ban on new short-term contracts is already in place, European buyers are still importing Russian LNG under long-term agreements. Meanwhile, Denmark's Fayard remains the only EU shipyard servicing the icebreaking LNG carriers transporting the fuel from Russia's Arctic projects to European ports. Read the full story by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/3dQeeBw

Our July print edition is out. In this month's cover story, Paula Soler travels to Zaragoza, where the EU is putting its rapid deployment force through its largest military exercise yet — a dusty training ground that reveals more about Europe's defense ambitions than any Brussels press conference could. On neighboring pages, Federica Di Sario follows the trail of Russian spies through Vienna, while Peder Schaefer unpacks a fictional AI doomsday scenario that has set Brussels' technologists on a collision course with lawmakers. This is our last edition before the Brussels summer scatters our staff to beaches, mountains or anywhere with functioning air conditioning. We'll return in September with a fresh edition and plenty more stories from Brussels and beyond. — Carl-Johan Karlsson, Editor-in-Chief Read the preview: buff.ly/sHW9F0W

The eighth Irish presidency of the Council of the EU faces urgent deadlines: the next long-term EU budget and enlargement. Dublin wants to conclude negotiations on the next MFF while advancing Ukraine's path to EU membership — the "biggest support" the Union can offer Kyiv, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said in an interview with The Parliament. Byrne also discussed Ireland's recognition of the State of Palestine, noting that "not enough" member states have taken the same step. Read the interview: buff.ly/Yes64UD

Next to the Kazakh Embassy in Brussel’s Uccle neighborhood stands a striking symbol of Astana’s diplomatic ambitions: a traditional Kazakh yurt. More than an architectural curiosity, the yurt reflects Kazakhstan’s broader charm offensive toward the European Union, its largest trading partner and foreign investor. So far, the strategy appears to be paying off, FDS reports. Read the full article here: buff.ly/DqxbtS4

Is NATO launching "Operation Charm Trump"? As allies head to next week's NATO summit in Ankara, they'll try to reassure Washington with record defense spending, new transatlantic contracts and a stronger European pillar within the alliance. But will it be enough? More on that in this week's newsletter: buff.ly/5i61AR3

Austria's status as Europe's premier playground for spies might soon come to an end. After decades of giving foreign intelligence services an easy ride, Austria is fighting back. The government has announced it will tighten its espionage laws, making life harder for the estimated 7,000 spies believed to roam the city, reports FDS. Read the full story here: buff.ly/eHK9srx

The European Union has a Turkey dilemma. For decades, the EU has struggled to define its relationship with the country. Accession talks have stalled, democratic backsliding has deepened and recurring political disputes have strained ties. Yet cooperation on migration, energy, security and regional stability has endured, reflecting a partnership neither side is willing to abandon. Now, shifting geopolitics are forcing a rethink. Can the EU continue to balance strategic necessity with political unease? Read the full story here: buff.ly/X6BakRg

Ireland's presidency of the Council of the European Union will coincide with one of the bloc's busiest political agendas in years. To assess what Dublin can realistically achieve, The Parliament has published a guide featuring leading policymakers and experts. Built around the three pillars of competitiveness, European values and security, it examines the major dossiers awaiting the Irish presidency, from concluding negotiations on the next long-term budget and advancing enlargement to implementing the "One Europe, One Market" roadmap. Read the Guide: buff.ly/toCgh2C

Is the EU's rapid deployment force ready for action? Reporter @pausoler98 traveled to Zaragoza, where the EU staged a battle to put the force through its paces. Commanders called the drill a success, but major questions remain over political will, command structures and the force's role alongside NATO. Read the full story on our website: buff.ly/ZC2sAC3

Late summer is usually when Brussels empties out, but that quiet will be deceptive this year as the European Union embarks on one of the most consequential summers for tech policy in years. On July 13, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to receive recommendations on regulating social media use by minors. Then, on Aug. 2, the EU's new enforcement powers over general-purpose AI models like ChatGPT and Claude kick in. Read the weekly newsletter by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/j7Nj7Rr

Europe 2031 is a fictional doomsday scenario that imagines how Europe could lose its technological sovereignty during the AI boom — and where EU policymakers are going wrong. But a closer reading reveals a deeper anxiety behind its virality: the fear that Brussels' bureaucratic, risk-averse culture is fundamentally out of step with the transformative changes unfolding in Silicon Valley. Read the full story by @pedersschaefer: buff.ly/NqF0pWa