Overview   News

We’re taking a short break over August and will be back with the next newsletter on 10 September. Enjoy the summer, and see you then!

The European Commission launched a targeted consultation seeking stakeholders' feedback on the product scope of the EU Steel Regulation, to assess which products should be included in the scope of the regulation. The EU Steel Regulation addresses negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the EU steel market and entered into force on 1 July.

The latest EU agri-food trade report published by the European Commission shows that, in the first five months of 2026, the EU agri-food trade surplus reached €19.4 billion, €1 billion higher than in the same period of 2025. The value of EU agri-food exports totalled €96.9 billion in January–May 2026, down by 3% compared with 2025.

The European Commission has disbursed €3.47 billion to Ukraine, under the defence window of the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan. The funding is provided in response to Ukraine's urgent military needs, as it continues to require capability support to defend itself against Russia's war of aggression.

The EU has launched a call for tenders to establish up to seven AI Gigafactories across Europe. The initiative is expected to unlock at least €20 billion in private investment across the Union. It will expand Europe's AI computing capacity and give start-ups, scale-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, academia and public authorities access to infrastructure for training, inference and fine-tuning advanced frontier AI models. The call closes on 12 November 2026.

As of 30 July, Japan is officially associated to Horizon Europe. Japan is the most populous country associated to the programme, adding one of the world's most advanced research and innovation ecosystems to Europe's network of scientific cooperation. The agreement allows Japanese researchers and organisations to take part in Horizon Europe on equal terms with those from EU Member States and other associated countries. T

An EU-funded research project has used music to investigate how the brain learns, predicts and adapts, with findings that could have applications in medicine, education and brain-computer technologies. The project included research by Giovanni Di Liberto, Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, who studied how the brain generates predictions during pauses in music. The findings offer new insights into how the brain learns patterns and anticipates what comes next.

Ireland was represented by Adam Lambe from the National Youth Council of Ireland at the second meeting of the President’s Youth Advisory Board in Brussels on 22 July. Alongside youth representatives from across Europe, he advised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the issues that matter most to young people, with discussions helping to shape future EU youth policies and the post-2027 EU Youth Strategy.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) is bringing its Keep Your Eyes Open campaign to this year's All Together Now festival in County Waterford. The initiative raises awareness of the rights of victims of crime across the EU and encourages people to recognise when someone may need support and help them access available services. If you're at the festival, drop by the stand!

The European Commission has launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its proposal to amend the Guidelines on regional State aid to keep them up-to-date. The guidelines set out the legal framework governing the granting of State aid for regional development and territorial cohesion. They aim to promote the economic development of disadvantaged regions in the EU while ensuring a level playing field between Member States.

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals under the Battery Booster Facility, making available up to €1.5 billion in interest-free loans to support battery cell manufacturing projects across the European Economic Area (EEA). The facility is financed through the Innovation Fund, using revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System. Applications can be submitted until 30 September 2026.

The European Commission has adopted new Charter of Access for Industrial Users to Research and Technology Infrastructures to make it faster and easier for companies to use Europe's world-class research and innovation facilities. The initiative is designed to help businesses, especially startups, scaleups and small and medium-sized enterprises, gain better access to advanced laboratories, pilot lines, testing environments and large scientific instruments.

In June 2026, prices for air transport services in Ireland rose by 4.6% compared with June 2025. Annual rates of change differed sharply between countries, with the strongest increases registered in Belgium (+28.7%), Austria (+22.3%) and Greece (+15.1%). At the other end, prices fell most heavily in Slovakia (-45.1%), Hungary (-13.6%) and Poland (-13.1%).

In 2025, the share of energy from renewable sources in Ireland reached 17.2%, one of the lowest across the EU, following Belgium (14.9%) and Slovakia (16.3%). Across the EU, the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption climbed to 26.2%, up from 25.2% in 2024. The highest shares were recorded in Sweden (65.4%), Finland (53.0%) and Denmark (48.2%).

New guidance from the European Commission shows how State aid rules allow EU Member States to provide social support and social investment. This guidance assists Member States in designing State aid measures for social support and social investment, as set out in the Clean Industrial Deal.

On 24 July, the European Commission signed an EU4Health contribution agreement worth over €4 million with the World Health Organisation Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. The funding will go towards reinforcing global pandemic preparedness, surveillance and response capacities. This will support decision-making in times of emergency.

The EU and Seychelles signed a new protocol to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement granting EU vessels access to Seychelles’ waters for a period of four years to fish 55,000 tonnes of tuna and other migratory species per year.

Manufacturers, developers and businesses of all sizes across the EU now have new guidance on how to apply the Cyber Resilience Act. This will help them prepare for mandatory cybersecurity requirements and reporting obligations.

The University of Galway is coordinating MEDALLOY, a new Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral network funded under Horizon Europe. Coordinated by Dr William Ronan, the network brings together 11 academic, industry and clinical partners across six European countries and will train nine doctoral candidates to develop the next generation of Nitinol, an advanced nickel-titanium alloy used in medical devices such as stents, heart valves and guidewires. The project aims to improve the performance and durability of these devices through collaboration in materials science, advanced manufacturing and computational modelling.

To mark European Day of Languages, on Friday 25 September we will provide virtual taster classes in eight languages - Danish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Spanish, Chinese and Ukrainian. Booking will open on 18 August – book ahead as spaces are limited.