European Commission

9 stories

Europe
Schengen borders
Airlines and airports urge EU to suspend new biometric border checks as queues reach five hours
ACI Europe, Airlines for Europe and IATA have written to Ursula von der Leyen demanding "immediate intervention" on the EU's Entry/Exit System, warning of five-hour passport queues and planes leaving half-empty as 40 million extra passengers arrive for the summer peak. The Commission insists the impact is "limited" at most airports but has called an urgent meeting. At Luxembourg's Findel airport, travellers are advised to reach passport control 90 minutes before departure.
By Julia Weber3 July 2026
Europe
Media consolidation
Washington Said Yes in Days. Brussels Is Taking Its Time.
Having won US antitrust clearance for its $111bn purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance now faces the harder test in Brussels, where the European Commission is weighing both competition concerns and $24bn of Gulf sovereign-wealth financing under two separate July deadlines.
By Pierre Hansen24 June 2026
Europe
Migration diplomacy
The EU Opens a Door to the Taliban — Then Argues About What Walked Through It
For the first time since the Taliban took Kabul in 2021, the EU hosted its officials in Brussels — a meeting the Commission requested to discuss returning rejected Afghan asylum seekers, and which rights groups condemned as deportations to a country grown only more dangerous.
By Julia Weber23 June 2026
Finance
Banking union
Brussels wants Europe's banks to move money freely. Few places have more at stake than Luxembourg
A draft European Commission report wants to let cross-border banks shift capital and liquidity across the EU to compete with US rivals. For a financial centre built on 117 foreign-owned banks, the reform is both an opportunity and a risk.
By Pierre Hansen19 June 2026
Finance
Fund Regulation
European Commission sets higher liquidity benchmarks for money-market funds, affecting Luxembourg's sector
The European Commission has published its long-awaited review of the EU's Money Market Funds Regulation, alongside new guidance recommending, for the first time, liquidity benchmarks above the legal minimums. The FAQs point to weekly liquid asset levels of 40% for stable-NAV funds and 20% for variable-NAV funds. Luxembourg's CSSF flagged the move to the local fund industry on 15 May 2026.
By Pierre Hansen1 June 2026
Europe
EU Labour Law
EU pay-transparency deadline falls this week as Brussels rules out delay; Luxembourg has filed no bill
The EU Pay Transparency Directive must be in force across the bloc by 7 June 2026, and on 22 May the European Commission confirmed it will not fold the rules into any simplification omnibus or "stop-the-clock" measure. Luxembourg, which has yet to file a transposition bill, looks set to miss the deadline even as new pay-range, pay-history and gender-gap-reporting duties bear down on employers.
By Marie-Anne Kayser1 June 2026
Europe
Trade defence
How the EU's new steel quota-and-tariff regime works
On 1 July 2026 the EU replaces its expiring steel safeguard with a tougher tariff-rate-quota regime. Tariff-free imports fall to about 18.3 million tonnes a year, a roughly 47% cut versus 2024, and the duty above quota doubles from 25% to 50% across 30 product categories. Brussels frames it as a response to record Chinese-driven overcapacity. Mills like ArcelorMittal are restarting idled furnaces, but downstream fabricators warn of higher input costs.
By Marie-Anne Kayser1 June 2026
Finance
Economy
Commission projects Luxembourg GDP growth of 1.9% in 2026 and 2.0% in 2027, calling recovery conditional
The European Commission projects Luxembourg's economy to recover from a 0.8% 2025 print to 1.9% in 2026 and 2.0% in 2027 — supported by financial-sector activity, lower rates and indexation-bolstered consumption.
By Pierre Hansen5 May 2026
Europe
Climate Diplomacy
Hoekstra Visits Luxembourg for Talks on ETS2 and Climate Finance, Plans June Return
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra spent two days in Luxembourg in mid-April, meeting Prime Minister Frieden, Foreign Minister Bettel and Environment Minister Wilmes. Discussions ranged from ETS2 implementation to international climate finance — and ended with the Commissioner accepting an invitation to open Luxembourg's first International Climate Finance Days in June.
By Tom Reuter4 May 2026