Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. FIRST OMNIBUS AGREEMENT, BUT NOT THE LAST Habemus Omnibus! This week, Member States and the Parliament reached their first agreement on one of the Commission’s six “simplification” packages so far: Omnibus II, dedicated to the InvestEU program. The agreement increases the EU guarantee by €2.9 billion, which is expected to mobilize at least €50 billion in additional investments while claiming to reduce administrative burden for companies and national authorities. However, this is only a first step. Five other Omnibus packages are still under discussion (on defence, food and agriculture, medium-sized companies, and chemicals) and two more are pending. The new initiatives include an environmental Omnibus, expected in late 2025, which could significantly change landmarks laws such as the Empowering Consumers Directive.…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. ALBANIA’S AMBITIOUS SPRINT TO ACCESSION Sprinting toward EU membership this week, Albania officially opened its fourth negotiation cluster, covering transport, energy, trans-European networks and environmental protection. This brings the total number of clusters opened in less than a year to five out of six. The total number of EU acquis chapters completed increased to 28 out of 33, a pace that Brussels calls "impressive." The Commission has praised Albania’s reforms, ranging from anti-corruption efforts to judicial modernization. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos noted that Tirana demonstrates how bold leadership can deliver tangible change. The remaining chapters, including agriculture and regional cohesion, are set to open by the end of the year, with the goal of concluding technical negotiations by 2027. If progress…