20Feb 2026 by Maja Bartczak

EU Friday – 20 February

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EU-US trade agreement: we’re friends again Next week, the Parliament is set to vote on the EU-U.S. trade deal agreed last summer between the European Commission and Washington. After weeks of political tension including Trump’s Greenland occupation plans and fresh tariff threats, the file is back on track. The compromise hammered out by Parliament’s political groups adds safeguards: a sunset clause would see the agreement expire in March 2028 unless renewed, and a suspension mechanism could kick in if the US violates the terms. There’s also a safeguard for sensitive sectors, and an automatic penalty if Washington doesn’t follow through on its side of the steel commitments. As transatlantic trade is worth €1.68 trillion, it’s not a surprise that business groups…

EU Friday – 13 February

EU Friday

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. ELECTIONS: RELIEF IN PORTUGAL, POPULARITY TESTS AHEAD ELSEWHERE Last Sunday, Portugal gave everyone in Europe a sigh of relief as centre-left António José Seguro won the presidency by a wide margin over far-right leader André Ventura. The relief is real, even if Ventura still got 33% of the votes, cementing his party Chega as a long-term player rather than a passing protest. Elsewhere, politicians in the Netherlands are campaigning for local elections on 18 March, which risk being turned in a stress test of the new government minority government to be installed in two weeks. France, meanwhile, has municipal elections on 15 and 22 March which will give a first hint of the Rassemblement national’s chances of seeing Marine Le Pen…

EU Friday – 6 February

EU Friday

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. THE ONLY WAY IS UP FOR DRAGHI AND LETTA All eyes are on two former Italian Prime Ministers next week, as they will address EU government leaders at a special Summit at Alden Biesen castle, on the Flemish countryside. More than a year after the Draghi and Letta reports on competitiveness and the single market, national leaders are going to hear on Thursday that the funding gap to address Europe's green, digital and defence needs is much bigger than the 800 billion a year presented before. It is a public secret that Draghi is frustrated at the lack of progress on his recommendations, with only 10% of his report implemented according to the Draghi Observatory. Von der Leyen has used a…