DAILY NEWS
Brussels, 26 March 2026
Commission scales up its humanitarian response in Lebanon to address urgent needs
This week, the European Commission scaled up its humanitarian response in Lebanon, delivering nearly 150 tonnes of life-saving supplies to support people displaced by the deteriorating situation in the country.
Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said: “The situation in Lebanon is worsening by the day, affecting millions already in dire need. Through our EU Humanitarian Air Bridges, we are stepping up to reach the most vulnerable quickly. The EU will continue to deliver life-saving aid, together with our Member States and partners. We stand firmly with the people of Lebanon at this difficult time. This war must end.”
To deliver the supplies, the Commission coordinated three EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flights, transporting medical, hygiene, and food items from the EU's own stocks, and several EU partners, including UN agencies (UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the German Red Cross, International Health Partners and Médecins Sans Frontières. In addition, the flights delivered donations from Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Italy, including more than 13,000 blankets. These donations took place under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which Lebanon activated, as any country worldwide can do in times of crisis.
This support is part of the €100 million in humanitarian aid announced earlier this month and adds to a recent delivery of more than 75 tonnes of essential supplies.
The latest developments have forced more than 1 million people from their homes, further exacerbating already acute needs in the country. The Commission will continue to provide unwavering support to those in need in Lebanon and across the region.
(For more information: Eva Hrnčířová – Tel.: +32 2 298 84 33; Quentin Cortès – Tel.: +32 2 296 47 35)
Norway and Iceland join EU's secure satellite networks GOVSATCOM and IRIS²
Norway and Iceland will join the EU's space systems, GOVSATCOM and the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²), following an agreement signed today in Brussels. This partnership marks a significant expansion of the European space ecosystem, reinforcing the Union's cooperation with key partners to boost collective resilience and security in secure connectivity.
Secure satellite connectivity is a backbone for modern crisis management, emergency response and operations in remote regions where traditional infrastructure is limited. By joining these programs, Norway and Iceland will gain access to high-tier encrypted communication services. These tools are essential for protecting sensitive information, supporting public authorities, and ensuring the safety of air and maritime navigation across the North Atlantic and Arctic.
GOVSATCOM, which has been operational since January 2026, alongside the developing IRIS² programme, will provide both nations with enhanced capabilities for disaster response, environmental monitoring and secure government services. Beyond security, the improved connectivity is expected to deliver vital social benefits to remote communities, including enhanced access to digital healthcare and emergency services.
The agreement was signed by Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth, and Iceland's Ambassador to the European Union Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson. This step underscores Europe's growing global role in space and its commitment to building a secure, integrated satellite architecture with its closest partners.
(For more information: Thomas Regnier – Tel: +32 2 299 10 99; Marine Strauss – Tel: +32 2 298 91 03)
Commission welcomes selection of Lille as seat for EU Customs Authority
The Commission welcomes today's agreement between the European Parliament and the Council, selecting Lille as the seat of the EU Customs Authority (‘EUCA').
The Commission received nine applications from Member States looking to host EUCA. It then prepared a neutral and factual assessment of these applications, and sent it to the co-legislators on 20 January 2026, to aid in the selection process. Today's decision represents one of the last steps required before concluding the negotiations on the ambitious EU Customs Reform.
The reform will strengthen EU customs authorities, helping them to protect the EU's external border for goods from challenges arising from rapid increases in e-commerce flows and shifting geopolitical realities. Modernising the EU customs framework will benefit our economy, our security, and our consumers, by creating a simpler, better and more efficient digitalised system for EU international trade.
Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, said: “Today's political agreement on the EUCA seat brings us significantly closer to concluding the negotiations on the ambitious Customs Reform package. I very much welcome that the co-legislators have reached an agreement, to put in motion a future key player for our Customs Union to act as one. The Commission will now accelerate the preparatory work for the establishment of the EUCA, in close cooperation with Member States. This is a good day for the European customs cooperation.”
More information is available online in the press release.
(For more information: Olof Gill - Tel.: +32 2 296 59 66; Paula Ritter-Moschutz - Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83)
Investigation by the Commission and consumer authorities find that one in three traders incorrectly display discounts online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Today, the European Commission and consumer protection authorities from 23 Member States as well as Iceland and Norway, released the results of a screening (‘sweep') of online discounts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
‘Sweeps' are coordinated by the European Commission and carried out simultaneously by national enforcement authorities. The objective of this sweep was to assess whether discounts and pricing practices during major sales events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, were compliant with EU consumer law.
Consumer protection authorities checked 314 online traders and found that 30% referenced discounts incorrectly during such sales. Under the Price Indications Directive, when a business announces a discount, the price of reference must be the lowest price applied in the past 30 days.
Authorities also assessed other sales tactics that may influence consumers' purchasing decisions. Out of the traders screened:
Adding items without the consumer's consent, displaying prices in a misleading way, claiming falsely that a product is running out, or hiding extra fees until the end of the process are illegal practices under EU consumer law. Following the sweep, national consumer authorities may take action against the businesses concerned.
Background
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of national authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Under the coordination of the European Commission, they collaborate to tackle infringements of consumer law occurring in the Single Market.
Traders' obligations with regards to price reductions are laid down in the Price Indication Directive. The promotion of prices are also regulated by the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
The following EU Member States participated in the sweep: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Iceland and Norway also took part to the sweep.
For more information
Previous sweeps
Consumer Protection Cooperation Network
Consumer Rights Directive
Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
Sale of Goods Directive
Sustainable Consumption
Quote(s)
Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer great opportunities for both businesses and consumers. However, a great bargain is no excuse to cheat the rules. Consumers expect a fair treatment, whether they are shopping online or offline. Our sweep should act as a reminder: Businesses that treat their customers fairly always benefit.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
Trust is essential for both consumers and businesses. Misleading discounts and false ‘promotions’ undermine that trust. EU consumer protection rules strike a careful balance, ensuring a fair market that serves the interests of both businesses and consumers. This sweep gives us a comprehensive view of the market, helping us identify where further action is needed to keep it fair, transparent, and competitive.
Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection
Commission investigates Snapchat's compliance with child protection rules under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has opened formal proceedings to investigate if Snapchat is ensuring a high level of safety, privacy and security for children online, in compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Snapchat may have breached the DSA by exposing minors to grooming attempts and recruitment for criminal purposes, as well as to information about the sale of illegal goods, like drugs, or age-restricted products, such as vapes and alcohol.
The investigation will focus on five areas.
Age assurance
According to Snapchat's own Terms and conditions, users must be at least 13 years old to use the platform. The Commission suspects that Snapchat's reliance on self-declaration as an age assurance measure is insufficient. It neither prevents children under the age of 13 from accessing the service, nor adequately assesses whether users are younger than 17 years old, which is necessary to ensure an age-appropriate experience. Moreover, the Commission suspects that the tool for users to report to Snapchat the presence of minors under the age of 13 on its service is not available to users on the app.
Grooming and recruitment of minors for criminal activities
The Commission suspects that Snapchat is not adequately protecting minors from being contacted by users with harmful intent, such as sexual exploitation or recruitment for criminal activities. By allowing their services to be misused by adults who, by not disclosing their real age at registration or by altering it afterwards, are pretending to be minors, Snapchat may not be implementing sufficient safeguards to protect children from exposure to harmful content, contact, conduct, and other risks.
Inadequate default account settings
The Commission suspects that Snapchat's default settings do not provide sufficient privacy, safety, and security protections for minors. For example, children and teens are automatically recommended to other users through the 'Find Friends' system, and push notifications remain enabled by default. Additionally, when creating an account, users are not offered adequate guidance on privacy and safety features, nor given an explanation of how to adjust account settings.
Dissemination of information on the sale of prohibited products
Under the DSA, online platforms must mitigate systemic risks stemming from their service. The Commission suspects that Snapchat is in breach of this obligation. For example, its content moderation tools do not seem to be effective in preventing the spread of information pointing users to the sale of illegal products, such as drugs, or age-restricted items, including vapes and alcohol. Moreover, the platform does not seem to effectively prevent users, including children and teens, from accessing such content.
Reporting of illegal content
The Commission suspects that the mechanisms currently in place to notify illegal content are neither easy to access nor user-friendly and may use so-called dark patterns in their design. In addition, the Commission suspects that Snapchat fails to inform users about the possibilities for redress, including through Snapchat's internal complaint handling system.
Next steps
The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation. This involves gathering further evidence, for example by sending requests for information to Snapchat and conducting interviews or inspections.
The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement steps, such as adopting interim measures and a non-compliance decision. The Commission is also empowered to accept commitments from Snapchat to remedy issue raised in the proceedings.
Today's opening of formal proceedings means that the Commission takes charge of the investigation that the Dutch Digital Service Coordinator (DSC), Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), launched on 9 September 2025 into the sales of vapes to minors on Snapchat. ACM will be associated to the Commission's investigation and will continue to support it.
The Commission used the 2025 DSA Guidelines on the protection of minors as a benchmark to evaluate platforms' compliance with the obligation to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors. The Guidelines set out that self-declaration should not be considered as a reliable age assurance measure; minors should not be easily detectable by adults nor be recommended adults as contact suggestions, and children's default settings and interface design should be set to the highest available level of protection.
The Commission's opening of an investigation is based on the analysis of Snapchat's risk assessment reports from 2023, 2024 and 2025, as well as on the replies to the request for information sent on 10 October 2025. This request sought details on Snapchat's age verification system, as well as on the measures to prevent users from accessing illegal products, including drugs, and minors from accessing age-restricted products, such as vapes.
The Commission has taken into account the information gathered by ACM in its investigation of Snapchat's compliance with the DSA with regard to the sale of vapes to minors in the Netherlands as well as information provided by the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railways (BNetzA), the DSC for Germany. The Commission also received input from academic researchers, civil society organisations and other public authorities.
Under the DSA, citizens have the right to make a complaint about a breach of the DSA to the Digital Services Coordinator of their Member State. The Commission has also put in place a whistleblower tool, allowing employees and other people with knowledge to contact the Commission in an anonymous way to contribute to the Commission's monitoring of compliance by designated VLOPs/VLOSEs.
From grooming and exposure to illegal products to account settings that undermine minors’ safety, Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users. With this investigation, we will closely look into their compliance with our legislation.
Commission preliminarily finds PornHub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos in breach of the Digital Services Act for allowing minors to access their services
The European Commission preliminarily found Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for failing to protect minors from being exposed to pornographic content on their services.
Risk assessment
The Commission's preliminary findings indicate that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos did not diligently identify and assess the risks that their platforms pose to minors accessing their services.
Even where risks were identified, Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos did not conduct a thorough assessment, as they did not use objective and thorough methodologies. For example, the assessment disproportionately emphasised business-centric concerns, such as reputational damage, rather than focusing on the societal risks to minors, as required under the DSA.
Moreover, the findings show that in their risk assessments Stripchat, Xvideos, and XNXX misrepresented or did not consider their meetings with civil society organisations specialising in children's rights and age assurance tools.
Risk mitigation measures
The Commission also preliminarily found that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos have failed to implement effective measures to prevent minors from accessing their services, therefore, failing to protect minors' rights and wellbeing.
Despite stating in their Terms of Services that their services are for adults only, all four platforms allow minors to access their platforms by a simple click confirming they are over 18.
The Commission finds that ‘self-declaration' is not an effective measure, and it also considers that additional mitigation measures, such as page blurring, content warnings and ‘Restricted to adults' labels, deployed by all of these platforms, do not effectively prevent minors from accessing harmful content.
At this stage, the Commission considers that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos need to implement privacy preserving age verification measures to protect children from harmful content.
These findings do not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation.
In exercising their right of defence, XVideos, XNXX, PornHub and Stripchat now have the possibility to examine the documents in the Commission's investigation files and reply in writing to the Commission's preliminary findings. The platforms can take measures to remedy the breaches. In parallel, the European Board for Digital Services will be consulted.
If the Commission's views are ultimately confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision, which can trigger a fine proportionate to the infringement which shall in no case exceed 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider. The Commission can also impose periodic penalty payments to compel a platform to comply.
These preliminary findings are part of the Commission's formal proceedings launched against XVideos, XNXX, PornHub and Stripchat under the DSA on 27 May 2025. The preliminary findings are based on an in-depth investigation that included an analysis of Pornhub's, Stripchat's, XNXX' and XVideos' risk assessment reports, internal data and documents as well as the platforms' replies to requests for information and interviews with experts in the field.
The Commission used the 2025 DSA Guidelines on the protection of minors as a benchmark to evaluate platforms' compliance with the obligation to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors. The DSA guidelines identify age verification as a proportionate and effective measure to mitigate the risk of minors accessing adult content services. The Commission is developing an EU Age Verification app, which will serve as the reference standard for a user-friendly and privacy-preserving age verification method. This age verification is app is currently being tested with Member States, online platforms and other third parties. It will be fully interoperable with the future EU Digital Identity Wallets.
In the course of these investigations, the Commission's work has been supported by relevant national authorities, including the Cypriot Radiotelevision and Digital Services Authority and the Czech Telecommunication Office, respectively the Digital Services Coordinators for Cyprus and for Czechia, the two Member States of establishment of these VLOPs. ARCOM, the French Digital Services Coordinator, and the German media authority of North Rhine-Westphalia were also consulted, being among the national regulators that had already taken steps to investigate pornographic platforms at the national level.
In parallel, a coordinated action against non-compliant smaller pornographic platforms is being carried out by the national Digital Services Coordinators who are responsible for supervising them. This coordinated action aims to ensure that the DSA is enforced consistently across online platforms of all sizes in the EU.
In the EU, online platforms have a responsibility. Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services. Today, we are taking another action to enforce the DSA - ensuring that children are properly protected online, as they have the right to be.
Commission greenlights Greece's seventh payment request for €1.18 billion under NextGenerationEU
Today, the European Commission positively assessed Greece's seventh payment request for €884 million in grants and €294 million in loans, totalling €1.18 billion, under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.
Following its assessment of the payment request, the Commission found that Greece has satisfactorily completed the 20 milestones and 6 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision.
The reforms and investments tied to this payment request will benefit Greek citizens and businesses, particularly through advances in the energy transition, transport, social inclusion, the digitalisation of public administration, healthcare, and an improved business environment.
Flagship measures in this payment request include:
The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Greece's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Council's Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The payment to Greece can take place following the EFC's positive opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.
Greece submitted its seventh payment request on 19 December 2025. Greece's recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures supporting social, climate and digital transition objectives. The plan will be financed by €18.22 billion in grants and €17.73 billion in loans.
With today's positive assessment, this payment request will bring the funds paid out to Greece under the RRF to €24.62 billion. This includes €3.96 billion in pre-financing received in August 2021 and €159 million in pre-financing under REPowerEU received in January 2024. This corresponds to 68.5% of all the funds in the Greek plan, with 48% of all the milestones and targets in the plan fulfilled.
With a view to the closure of the Facility at the end of 2026, Members States must implement all outstanding milestones and targets by August 2026 and submit last payment requests by the end of September.
Commission's preliminary assessment of Greek's seventh payment request
Plan overview, full plan and all other related documents
Recovery and Resilience Facility
Recovery and Resilience Facility project map
Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard
Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation
Questions and Answers on RRF payment claim process
EU as a borrower
Executive Vice-President Minzatu in London to discuss education and social policy
The Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu, is visiting London today and tomorrow.Her trip highlights the EU's ties with the UK on strengthening educational exchanges and skills development, particularly benefiting young people and cooperation in the area of employment and social policy.
During her visit, she will engage in discussions on the Union of Skills initiative, EU's comprehensive plan that aims to improve the quality of education, training and lifelong learning while maintaining the EU's competitiveness. Following successful negotiations last December for the UK's re-entry into the Erasmus+ programme, preparations are underway to prepare for the UK's participation in 2027. The Erasmus+ programme offers mobility and cooperation opportunities for Europeans with a budget of €26 billion (2021-2027).
On Thursday, Executive Vice-President Mînzatu, will meet with Pat McFadden, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to discuss. The focus will be on cooperation in multilateral settings to promote high labour standards, cooperation on social security coordination and exchange on key policies common interest such as measures to address poverty. Additionally, the Executive Vice-President will meet with the European Affairs Societies of key UK universities and give a keynote speech for students at the University College London focusing on the benefits of Erasmus+ and the opportunities brought by a stronger EU-UK cooperation for young people.
(For more information: Eva Hrnčířová — Tel.: +32 2 298 84 33; Eirini Zarkadoula - Tel.: +32 2 295 70 65)
Commissioner Kubilius continues ‘missile tour' in Sweden to ramp-up Europe's missile production to support Ukraine and strengthen air missile defence in Europe
Today and tomorrow, Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius is in Sweden as part of his European ‘missile tour'. The visit aims to align the EU's industrial scale-up with Ukraine's urgent defence needs and the long-term security of the Baltic Sea region, which faces a growing threat from frequent drone incursions and crashes. Sweden is among EU leaders in terms of defence industry and current support for Ukraine.
The Commissioner meets today with Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson in Stockholm Stockholm to discuss support to Ukraine, the need to increase defence industrial ramp-up and the removal of industrial, regulatory and administrative bottlenecks to accelerate the speed of European rearmament.
On Friday, the mission moves to Linköping, the heart of Sweden's aerospace and defence industry. There, the Commissioner will visit Saab, a global leader in missiles, military systems, radars and surveillance systems. He will go to the production facilities of different types of missile systems and will visit the GlobalEye facility, which produces surveillance planes.
A joint press conference by Commissioner Kubilius and Minister Jonson on Friday will conclude the visit. It will be livestreamed on EBS at 12:00 CET.
Expert group on food security will assess the situation in the Middle East and its potential impacts
As part of the European Food Security Crisis Preparedness and Response Mechanism (EFSCM), its expert group meets today to examine the evolving situation in the Middle East and its impact on the EU agri-food sector. In particular, the meeting will focus on trade flows, energy supplies, and fertilisers.
The EFSCM, established as part of the EU's contingency plan for food supply and security, brings together countries, private actors as well as non-governmental organisations across the food chain to enhance preparedness and coordinate responses to emerging threats. Recent crises, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, a commodity price surge or the Covid-19 pandemic, have underscored the need for robust mechanisms to safeguard food availability, affordability, and sustainability.
The EU's food system remains resilient because the EU is largely self-sufficient for many agricultural products. The Commission continues to monitor global and domestic threats and vulnerabilities to improve its level of preparedness. Since its creation, the EFSCM has already adopted three sets of recommendations on crisis communication, on diversity of sources of supply, and on mitigating risks in the food supply chain.
(For more information: Louise Bogey – Tel.: +32 2 296 97 76; Kateřina Horáková - Tel.: +32 2 299 93 10)
Commission designates Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU
The European Commission has decided to designate Mairead McGuinness as Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief outside the EU. In this capacity, she will report to Commissioner Brunner, who is in charge of leading the Commission's dialogue with churches and religious associations or communities, and with philosophical and non-confessional organisations, and will provide support for intercultural and interreligious dialogue processes outside the European Union, including with national authorities, organisations and representatives of different faiths.
The EU is committed to promoting and protecting human rights at home and abroad. This designation underlines the Commission's commitment to protect freedom of religion or belief, one of the most fundamental aspects of human dignity, closely connected with freedom of expression - the ability of every individual to decide what they believe, in full respect of their conscience. The persistent persecution of individuals and minorities on religious, belief and ethnic grounds makes protecting and promoting this freedom outside the EU all the more essential. As the European Union continues to act as a global role model in upholding fundamental rights, this role is essential to promoting peaceful and open societies.
Mairead McGuinness served as European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union (2020–2024). Prior to this, she was the first Vice-President of the European Parliament with responsibility for the Parliament's dialogue with churches, religious and philosophical organisations and relations with national Parliaments. She was Member of the European Parliament for several mandates, spanning from 2004 until 2020.
(For more information: Maciej Berestecki – Tel.: +32 2 296 64 83; Isabel Otero Barderas - Tel.: +32 2 296 69 25)
Tentative agendas for forthcoming Commission meetings
Note that these items can be subject to changes.
Upcoming events of the European Commission
Eurostat press releases
Calendar items of the President and Commissioners
Individual calendars of the President and Commissioners