What’s up EU

The Newsletter

Every edition, in full.

The weekly What’s up EU newsletter, as it landed in your inbox: the briefing written by an expert, the week’s news in brief, and what we’ve been reading.

2026

  1. Europe’s Fighter Jet That Never FlewA briefing by Juraj MajcinBut also — Ireland, Digital Services Tax, Siri, Germany6 July 2026
  2. Can the EU Agree on a Budget Before Election Crunch?A briefing by Matthieu BenoistBut Also - Border Chaos, Dassault, Draghi29 June 2026
  3. ‘Gradual Integration’ in the EU: New Idea or Same Old Promise?A briefing by Lukáš MacekBut Also - Vladimir Putin, Pete Hegseth, and Saudi Arabia22 June 2026
  4. Economic Security: Europe Between Openness and ProtectionA briefing by Nathan MunchBut Also - Anthropic, Fighters Jets, and the French15 June 2026
  5. How to Break the EU's Foreign Policy DeadlockA briefing by Guillaume DuvalBut Also - Digital Sovereignty, Enlargement, Ukraine8 June 2026
  6. How the EU’s Court of Justice Struck Down Hungary’s Anti-LGBTI LawA briefing by Marie-Hélène LudwigBut Also - NextGenEU, Temu, Trade1 June 2026
  7. ­Iran Crisis Exposes EU Foreign Policy WoesA briefing by Benoît CormierBut Also - China, Brexit, Ukraine26 May 2026
  8. Trump’s July 4 Ultimatum to EuropeA briefing by Carlo GiannoneBut Also - China and the FSR, Merz and EU Debt, and NextGenEU's Unspent Money18 May 2026
  9. Merger Control: Evolution or RevolutionA briefing by Thomas HarborBut Also - Trade, Energy11 May 2026
  10. The European Pharmaceutical Sector in the Trump EraA briefing by Ludovic LacaineBut also — EU-US Trade, EU-Mercosur Agreement, Energy & State Aid5 May 2026
  11. Openness and Fragmentation in EU Defence ProcurementA briefing by Oscar GuineaBut also — Ukraine, EU Defence, SCAF, Germany, LGBTQIA+ rights, EU-Israel Relations27 April 2026
  12. Will Péter Magyar bring Hungary “back to Europe”?A briefing by Juraj MajcinBut also — Energy, IMF20 April 2026
  13. What the EU Pact on Asylum & Migration Is AboutA briefing by Monique PariatBut also — Hungary, Energy Prices, Critical Minerals13 April 2026
  14. What’s at Stake with the EU-India Trade DealA briefing by Pierre LeturcqBut also — Energy, EU-US Trade7 April 2026
  15. Is Carbon Pricing Really Driving Up Europe’s Energy Bills?A briefing by Anna CrawfordBut Also - EU-US Trade, Migration, Custom Duties30 March 2026
  16. A 28th Regime to Replace the 27?A briefing by Thomas HarborBut Also - EU-Australia FTA, EU-US Trade Deal, Energy Prices25 March 2026
  17. Why the EU's Space Act MattersA briefing by Arthur de Liedekerke & Lise ErardBut Also - EUCO, Polish Veto, Trade Policy, Capital Markets Union16 March 2026
  18. What Should We Make of the Industrial Accelerator Act?A briefing by Tristan BeuclerBut Also - Energy Crisis, Europe's Response to Iran10 March 2026
  19. Europe’s Folly: Is Joint EU Debt a Good Idea?A briefing by Romain Wacziarg & Hanno LustigBut Also - Mercosur, Competition Policy, and Merz's Trade Diplomacy2 March 2026
  20. Uncertainty Is Worse Than TariffsA briefing by Thomas HarborBut Also - Board of Peace, DSA, FCAS, Hungary24 February 2026
  21. European Champions: Why the Revolution Won’t HappenA briefing by Bruno AlomarBut Also - Leaders' Informal Gathering on Competitiveness; Frozen Hungarian Funds Before the CJEU16 February 2026
  22. ‘Buy European’ for Defence, Too Soon or Too Late?A briefing by Benoît CormierBut Also - Sanctions, MAGA, ECB, Competitiveness Summit10 February 2026
  23. A Fast-Track Membership for Ukraine?A briefing by Lukáš MacekBut Also - EU-India FTA, Séjourné's Buy European op-ed, Draghi in Louvain, Iran Sanctions3 February 2026
  24. Time is Money: The Cost of Delaying the Ratification of the EU-Mercosur Trade AgreementA briefing by Oscar GuineaBut Also - Davos, EU Inc., Confidence Vote, and more Mercosur26 January 2026
  25. Is Greenland the Final Breaking Point of Transatlantic Relations?A briefing by Juraj MajcinBut Also - Mercosur Gets Signed, and EU 'Membership Lite' for Ukraine?19 January 2026
  26. Economic Security: Yet Another Paper?A briefing by François ChimitsBut Also - Mercosur, Inflation12 January 2026
  27. A Landmark Ruling on Cross-Border Recognition of Same-Sex MarriagesA briefing by Marie-Hélène LudwigBut Also - CBAM, Reparations Loan, Mercosur, Visa Bans and Combustion Engine Ban5 January 2026

2025

  1. The Reparations Loan To Ukraine Is Dividing EuropeansA briefing by Paul DermineBut Also — Mercosur, Low-value parcels, Pharma, Google15 December 2025
  2. The EU’s Carbon Border Tax After COP30A briefing by Pierre LeturcqBut Also - WhatsApp, US National Security Strategy, X, Russian Energy8 December 2025
  3. Taking Stock of the EU Sanctions on RussiaA briefing by Jan Dunin-WąsowiczBut Also - Frozen Assets, NTBs, Same-Sex Marriage, Omnibus, Brexit1 December 2025
  4. Digital Omnibus: Bonfire Or Spring Cleaning?A briefing by Lorenzo AnconaBut Also - Golden Powers, Technology Summit, Lagarde's Speach24 November 2025
  5. Omnibus Hits the Brakes on SustainabilityA briefing by Anna CrawfordBut also — Digital Omnibus, Ukraine, EU-UK Relations, Small Parcels17 November 2025
  6. Taking Stock of the EU’s Enlargement to the EastA briefing by Romain Le QuiniouBut Also - Digital Omnibus, Emissions Targets, and Faster Trains9 November 2025
  7. SEPs: Chronicle of a Death ForetoldA briefing by Oscar GuineaBut Also - China, Tanks, Mercosur3 November 2025
  8. The Battle For The Next EU Budget Is About To BeginA briefing by Benoît CormierBut Also - Omnibus, 28th Regime, China, Frozen Assets27 October 2025
  9. Deforestation Regulation: You Can’t See the Wood for the TreesA briefing by Pierre LeturcqBut also — EUCO, Pensions, Public Procurement, Competition21 October 2025
  10. Steel: Tariffs Are No PanaceaA briefing by Anna CrawfordBut also — No-Confidence Vote, Taxes, Fast Fashion, Spying13 October 2025
  11. Europe’s Not-Quite-Single MarketA briefing by Thomas HarborBut Also — Ukraine, Defense, Investments6 October 2025
  12. EU-Inc: Creating a Single Market for Entrepreneurs with a 28th RegimeA briefing by Kay JebelliBut Also — Apple, Indonesia, Deforestation, Ukraine29 September 2025
  13. Europe’s AI Problem Isn’t Inventing It, It’s Using ItA briefing by Oscar GuineaBut Also - Defence, Sanctions, Climate22 September 2025
  14. EU–Mercosur Trade Deal Closer Than Ever To RatificationA briefing by Mathieu SolalMercosur, SOTEU, Data Act, Mario Draghi17 September 2025
  15. With SAFE Fully Subscribed, Where does EU Defence Go Now?A briefing by Juraj MajcinBut Also -- Mercosur, EU Budget, Google AdTech8 September 2025
  16. The EU-US Joint Statement on Trade: The End of the BeginningA briefing by Nathan MunchBut Also -- Digital euro, Mercosur, Russia, Defense3 September 2025