Calling All #EUSpace Founders!Applications are officially open for Batch 7 of the CASSINI Business Accelerator!This 6-month, EU-wide programme is built to help ambitious space startups grow, scale, and succeed - across both upstream and downstream markets.Who can apply?

Boosting security, prosperity, competitiveness, democracy ... These and other priorities have been the focus of the first year of the von der Leyen II Commission.Read the newsletter about it from @EULawandPublications and subscribe for future editions.

In 2025, global temperature hit the third highest on record.The 2023–2025 period was marked by extreme heat, devastating wildfires, and severe storms, all closely linked to rising greenhouse gas emissions.Other warning signs:🌍 Polar temperature anomalies, with a record high in Antarctica🌊 Global sea surface temperatures stayed historically highThe EU remains committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050.This year, we will present a new European Framework for climate resilience and risk management to better prepare the EU for climate risks.Earth needs actions. Now. 🌍#CopernicusEU

Living near a border shouldn’t limit job opportunitiesIn many EU border regions, jobs exist on both sides — but skills gaps, red tape and mismatched training systems still make it hard for people to work across borders.That’s why the EU is launching consultations to listen directly to workers, employers and local actors in border regions. The goal: understand what blocks labour mobility and how skills systems can work better across borders.Because when borders stop people from working, learning or growing professionally, entire regions lose out.Supported by #EUFunds.#CohesionPolicy #BorderRegions #Skills #LabourMobility

🎉✨ Happy New Year! Start 2026 with a goal that opens doors: learn a new language with OLS! Learn at your pace, connect with communities and make progress while having fun.

Croatia: when historic castles become living places againWhat happens when heritage is not just preserved, but used?In Istria, two historic castles are showing how cultural heritage can drive local life and sustainable tourism. Once abandoned, Morosini-Grimani Castle in Svetvinčenat is now a lively community hub, welcoming around 45,000 visitors a year and hosting everything from concerts and medieval nights to food markets, escape games and family activities.Nearby, the more remote Petrapilosa Fortress, dating back to the 10th century, has also found a new role. Despite its isolation, it now attracts visitors through poetry festivals, treasure hunts, meditation workshops and music events — proving that even lesser-known sites can thrive when reimagined with care.Behind this transformation is KulTERRA, a project that combines heritage preservation with cultural tourism and local economic development. By keeping these sites active and meaningful, the project helps ensure they are maintained, respected and passed on to future generations.A reminder that heritage survives best when it remains part of everyday life — with EU support.

Faster diagnosis can save livesIn Lithuania, a new genetic test can diagnose tuberculosis — and detect drug resistance — in just four hours.Combined with the modernisation of a specialised hospital in Kaunas, this means patients start treatment earlier, outcomes improve, and transmission risks fall.Public health innovation that delivers real impact — with EU support.

Hungary and Serbia: when a shared river demands shared solutionsFloods, droughts and pollution are reshaping the behaviour of the Tisza River — the largest tributary of the Danube and a lifeline for communities across five countries.Through the ADAPTisa project, Hungary and Serbia are working together to better understand and anticipate these changes. Researchers, universities, water authorities and citizens are pooling data to build a shared digital platform for integrated river basin management. The goal is simple but ambitious: improve flood and drought forecasting and support faster, better-informed responses.On the ground, this cooperation takes many forms. Volunteers clean riverbanks, researchers collect water samples, and local memories of past floods are recorded — all feeding into models that combine historical data, real-time measurements and AI-based simulations.When climate risks don’t stop at borders, cooperation can’t either — with EU support.

Porto’s Bolhão market: when renovation keeps a place aliveSome renovations erase the soul of a place. Bolhão did the opposite. Reopened in 2022 after four years of work, Porto’s historic Bolhão market shows how a city can modernise infrastructure without losing what makes a place matter. Behind the restored Art Nouveau façade, everything has changed: better logistics, hygiene standards, cold storage, underground deliveries — all designed to make daily life easier for traders.And yet, the spirit is the same.The same voices, the same products, the same human connections that make Bolhão the heart of the city, visited by around 20,000 people every day. Financed with EU support, the renovation proves that investing in heritage isn’t about freezing the past — it’s about keeping it useful, welcoming and alive for the people who rely on it every day.

Keeping our drinking water safe. 💧EU countries must now monitor PFAS levels in drinking water. PFAS are long-lasting chemicals that can be harmful, if levels are too high.If that happens authorities must act and inform people until the water is safe again. Because everyone deserves access to safe drinking water.

🛡️💶 The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) is expanding its reach to support EU defence technologies, thanks to the recent adoption of the Defence mini-omnibus Regulation! Key developments: · The Regulation, in force since 23 December 2025, extends STEP’s scope to include defence technologies alongside digital, clean, and bio technologies. · It aligns with the mid-term review of the cohesion policy framework, creating new incentives for EU Member States and regions to fund defence-related investments. · A second STEP Guidance Note was published on 23 December 2025, clarifying the scope of defence technologies and other implementation details. · Over EUR 27bn in EU funding has already been allocated to strategic technologies under STEP since its launch in March 2024.

When the energy transition helps families make ends meetEnergy transition is often discussed in abstract terms.In Torreblanca, it’s something much more tangible: lower electricity bills, dignity and hope.This neighbourhood in Seville has long struggled with poverty. Today, families are part of a local energy community powered by solar panels installed on school rooftops — made possible with EU support.For parents, it means less anxiety when summer nights require air conditioning.For children, it means learning about climate action through real-life examples at school.For the neighbourhood, it means being known not for hardship, but for innovation and solidarity.This is what energy transition looks like when people are truly at the centre.#EnergyPoverty #SocialImpact #EUFunds #LocalEnergy #JustTransition

In Greece, where most residential buildings are old, poorly insulated, and still reliant on fossil fuels, accelerating the clean energy transition requires 👷‍♂️ training new professionals, and⚡ empowering energy communitiesby offering them the technical, organisational, and financial support needed to deliver high-quality renovations at scale.The #CitizenLedRenovation initiative supports projects that aim to build collectives capable of operating independently in the long term as community-driven renovation actors.

Bulgaria adopts the euro as its official currency. 💶It’s not just a new currency. It’s a step toward deeper integration into the European Single Market. Travel, work, and business will become easier and more connected.With Schengen now fully in place, this means more freedom, more opportunities, and a shared future. Let's keep moving forward together.

The Heat Pump Accelerator Platform has published its first position paper on 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬 📄.Heat pumps are 3–5 times more efficient than fossil fuel heating and key to the EU’s clean energy transition, yet cost remains a barrier. 💶 The findings identify key opportunities to reduce heat pump costs by• adapting fiscal legislation• improving technology performance• increasing market competition• optimising heat pump installation• coordinating and implementing EU policies• leveraging energy system integration• optimising funding and subsidies for heat pumpsActionable insights and recommendations for policymakers and industry stakeholders to reduce costs, increase competitiveness, and accelerate heat pump deployment across Europe

What if pavements helped prevent urban flooding?In Spain’s Valencia region, an unexpected solution is being tested to tackle urban flood risks: permeable ceramic paving.By rethinking how ceramic tiles are laid — on their sides, with gaps that let water infiltrate the ground — this innovation absorbs heavy rainfall instead of overwhelming drainage systems. Tests show absorption rates of up to 10,000 litres per m² per hour.Developed with EU support, the project combines climate adaptation with new opportunities for the local ceramic industry — and offers a practical solution cities can actually deploy.Sometimes, climate resilience starts under our feet.#ClimateAdaptation #CohesionPolicy #Urbanflooding

EU funding isn’t just for “big players” — it’s already helping SMEs, cities, researchers and innovators turn good ideas into real projects.This first 2026 funding overview brings together:• EU calls open now or opening soon• Opportunities in clean tech, digital, circular economy, skills and innovation• Clear deadlines to anticipate• Concrete examples of projects already delivering results on the ground• A practical focus on intellectual property, often overlooked but essential to scaleWhether you work in a public authority, SME, research centre or project partnership, this is designed to help you spot the right opportunity and move from idea to action.👉 Read the full newsletter and stay tuned — more funding opportunities, more impact, with EU support.

Where learning science means touching, playing and experimentingWhat if learning science didn’t start with formulas, but with curiosity?At the Luxembourg Science Center, children and adults learn by doing: feeling electricity through a plasma ball, playing table football against a robot, reshaping landscapes in augmented reality or travelling through the universe in a planetarium.What stands out isn’t the technology alone — it’s the joy of discovery. Students laugh, experiment, ask questions and remember what they’ve learned because they experienced it first-hand.With EU support, this centre shows that science doesn’t have to be intimidating. When people can touch it, play with it and explore it together, learning becomes something everyone can enjoy.#ScienceForAll #LearningByDoing #STEMEducation #EUFunds

We’re excited to share that all recordings, presentations, and materials from Education for Climate Day 2025 are now live! 🌍🎥 Catch up on inspiring sessions 📚 Explore practical resources 💡 Keep learning and engaging

European Commission is proposing a Military Mobility Package to ensure troops and equipment can cross borders without delay and critical infrastructure stays protected. It delivers: 🚆 Improved key EU transport corridors for both civilian and rapid military use 📜 Simplified authorisations to cut delays at borders 🛡️ Stronger protection for strategic infrastructure and civilian preparedness across the EU 🤝 A solidarity mechanism to pool transport assets and boost resilience 🚨 In emergencies, fast-track procedures with priority access Security begins with swift coordination. For a fast, united, unstoppable Europe.