Highlights

This study requested by the EUDS Special Committee reviews the current framework to protect democracy in the EU in view of the forthcoming European Democracy Shield. It provides a comprehensive map of the existing instruments, and identifies and analyses outstanding policy challenges, regulatory gaps and implementation issues. The study also formulates recommendations to strengthen democratic resilience

Following a June workshop in the Committee on Budgetary Control focusing on the implementation of the gender mainstreaming methodology in the EU budget, with an emphasis on budgetary control, this briefing, produced the Committee on Budgets, examines how gender budgeting in the current 2021-2027 budget cycle compares with the proposal for the post-2027 period.

This paper examines how EU development cooperation addresses irregular migration in Africa. It finds that EU-funded interventions prioritise control over facilitation, which may conflict with development goals. It calls for mobility that enables development potential and strengthens local ownership.

This study gives an overview of the status of international climate negotiations ahead of the climate change conference in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025. It covers the key topics under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the climate policies of key Parties, the positions of negotiating groups and the role of non-Party stakeholders.

Women remain under-represented in the EU fisheries sector, particularly as regards fishing and aquaculture activities. This in-depth analysis provides an overview of women’s participation in the sector, exploring available statistics and the incorporation of the gender dimension in EU fisheries policy.

This briefing provides an overview of the Danish Presidency’s priorities in ECON matters, including the Council’s work relating to the implementation of the European Semester for economic coordination, the application of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other policy streams relevant to the EU single market, notably progress on the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union.

This briefing discusses the impacts of STRs on access to affordable housing. It reviews the variety of STR regulations and the challenges to their implementation. It highlights the role that EU legislation plays in influencing the regulation of both STRs and the digital platforms that advertise them.

This briefing discusses the reactions of Member States to the CJEU ruling in the Cali Apartments SCI case that recognised combatting the rental housing shortage as a ‘reason relating to the public interest’, justifying proportionate STR measures.

This study examines how structural labour market inequalities affect women’s mental health in the EU. It highlights the gender pay and pension gaps and new forms of work as drivers of poorer well-being among women. The study identifies fragmented policy responses and recommends coordinated, genderresponsive action across labour, health and gender equality domains.

The study introduces the different estimates of the level of error affecting EU expenditure in cohesion policy, explaining how the Commission calculates the estimated ‘risk at payment’ and ‘at closure’, how the European Court of Auditors calculates the ‘estimated level of error’ and how the two methodologies differ.

This study examines EU-Moldova trade and investment ties, shaped by geopolitical tensions like Russian interference and the Transnistria conflict. It analyses key agreements, sectoral dynamics, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and Moldova’s EU accession process and Growth Plan.

The dollar has been the dominant global currency and anchor of the international monetary system for over 80 years. The euro, once a strong contender, has remained second. This paper reviews recent policy developments that have revived debate on global currency dominance, analyses the dollar’s future viability, and explores scenarios and policy gaps for the euro to gain a more prominent international role.