EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DAILY NEWS
Brussels, 10 February 2026
Commission launches Action Plan Against Cyberbullying to protect young people online
The European Commission's Action Plan Against Cyberbullying aims to protect the mental health of children and teens online in the EU. The Action Plan is built around: the rollout of an EU-wide app where victims of online bullying can easily get help, the coordination of national approaches to tackle harmful behaviour online, and the prevention of cyberbullying by encouraging better and safer digital practices.
EU-wide app to report cyberbullying
Victims of cyberbullying must have a clear and easy way to report harassment and get help. This is why an essential element of the Action Plan is the release of an easy-to-use and accessible app to report cyberbullying to a national helpline. More importantly, the app will be a way for children and teens to receive support, and they will be able to safely store and send evidence. The Commission will develop a blueprint of the app which Member States can then use to adapt, translate and connect to relevant national services.
A coordinated EU approach
Every young person across the EU should be equally protected from cyberbullying. Member States should develop comprehensive national plans and use a common understanding of cyberbullying to collect and compare data. This is an important step towards a more united front against cyberbullying.
There are ongoing initiatives in place to protect and empower minors online. To boost their effectiveness in tackling cyberbullying, the Commission will identify opportunities where they can be finetuned. Specifically, the Commission will:
Review of the Digital Services Act (DSA) guidelines on the protection of minors to strengthen the measures that online platforms have to take to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful content and to easily report it;
Adopt DSA guidelines on trusted flaggers to clarify their role in tackling illegal content, including illegal cyberbullying content;
Address cyberbullying on video sharing platforms in the ongoing evaluation and the review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD);
Support the effective implementation of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act provisions on prohibited AI practices, including when they are used for cyberbullying;
Facilitate the effective implementation of the AI Act transparency obligations, including through a code of practice on marking and labelling of AI-generated content, which can be misused for cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying prevention
The Action Plan encourages healthy, responsible, and respectful digital practices from an early age. Preventing cyberbullying will be the focus of the upcoming review of the Commission's guidelines for educators on promoting digital literacy, as part of the broader objective to strengthen digital skills and improve the use of digital technologies under the Union of Skills.
In parallel, the Commission will expand cyberbullying resources and training for schools through the Safer Internet Centres and the Better Internet for Kids Platform.
‘Safer Internet Day'
The Commission will continue to promote children's rights and well-being online and offline through the Safer Internet Day.
Launched in 2004 in the EU, Safer Internet Day is now celebrated in approximately 160 countries and territories worldwide, advocating for a safer and better online world for all. The European Commission remains committed to enhancing the rights and well-being of children both online and offline, across Europe and globally.
Next steps
The Commission will implement the Cyberbullying Action Plan together with Member States, industry, civil society, international organisations and children themselves.
In parallel, the Commission is working on upcoming initiatives such as the piloting of an EU privacy-preserving age verification solution, the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, a panel of experts to inform the Commission's work on protecting children online and an enquiry on the impact of social on mental health.
Background
It is estimated that around one in six children aged 11 to 15 report that they have been victims of cyberbullying and about one in eight admit to cyberbullying others. According to a Eurobarometer survey released last year, over 9 in 10 Europeans state it is urgent the action of the public authorities to protect the children online regarding the negative impact of social media on their mental health (93%), cyberbullying and online harassment (92%) and assuring mechanisms to restrict age-inappropriate content (92%).
The Cyberbullying Action Plan was developed based on a targeted consultation with more than 6 000 children and a broader public consultation.
The Action Plan builds upon the tools and rules that are already in place and that help combat cyberbullying.
The Digital Services Act requires online platforms to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors online. The guidelines for the protection of minors recommend measures for platforms, such as ensuring that children can block and or mute any user and that they cannot be added to groups without their consent online.
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive requires video-sharing platforms to take appropriate measures to avoid minors accessing harmful content, which includes cyberbullying content.
The Artificial Intelligence Act prohibits systems that manipulate or deceive people, including children, in harmful ways, and it establishes rules around labelling deepfakes to prevent deception.
The Action Plan will boost the visibility and outreach of the resources available through the network of Safer Internet Centres, which provide support tools for children, parents, carers, educators and professionals on the ground at national level, and via the multilingual Better Internet for Kids platform. In 2025, around 48 million European citizens used Safer Internet Centres' resources.
For more information
The Action Plan Against Cyberbullying
Factsheet on the Action Plan Against Cyberbullying
Joint Research Centre Science for Digital wellbeing
Quote(s)
Children and young people have the right to be safe when they are online. Cyberbullying undermines this right, leaving them feeling hurt, lonely, and humiliated. No child should be made to feel this way. This Action Plan complements our existing toolbox to protect minors online by calling on the EU and Member States to build a coordinated approach to counter cyberbullying at every level.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
Combating cyberbullying means saving lives, because cyberbullying harms, hurts, and sometimes takes the people we love. It is a pandemic we must address. With the EU Action Plan against cyberbullying, Europe teams up to create a safer online space where children, young people - every generation can learn, grow, and stay connected.
Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport
Commission partially registers European Citizens' Initiative on the protection of stray dogs, stray cats and animals in shelters
Today, the European Commission has partially registered a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), entitled ‘EU initiative to protect stray dogs, stray cats and animals in shelters in the EU/non-EU countries'.
The initiative invites the Commission to “strengthen the protection of stray dogs, stray cats and animals in shelters in the EU and to ensure that EU action in third countries does not contribute to animal suffering”. The organisers call for further restrictions on “the use of dogs and cats for scientific purposes” and for “EU trade, association and financing instruments” to “be designed in such a way that EU funds, trade benefits or cooperation will only be granted if minimum standards for the protection of dogs and cats are respected”. The organisers also consider that “sustainable, humane measures” should be promoted.
The Commission is only partially registering the initiative, as it can only do so in areas where the Commission has the power to propose new laws. This is the case for animal shelters, animal testing for scientific purposes, trade and cooperation with third countries and Union funding. Policies that have animal welfare as the stated objective are the exclusive competence of Member States. The Commission would not have the power to propose legislation with this stated objective and is therefore not in a position to register this part of the initiative.
The Commission considers the parts of the initiative that fulfil the formal conditions established in the relevant legislation legally admissible under the European Citizens' Initiative Regulation.
The Commission has not analysed the substance of the proposals at this stage. The partial registration does not influence the Commission's final decision on its merits, or any potential action it may take. The Commission will take a decision on the initiative only if the organisers collect at least one million signatures from EU citizens.
Following today's registration, the organisers have six months to open the 12-month period of signature collection. If an ECI receives at least one million statements of support during that time, with minimum numbers reached in at least seven Member States, the Commission is required to react, and decide what, if any, action it will take in response to the initiative, justifying its decision.
The ECI was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool for citizens. It was officially launched in April 2012. Once formally registered, a European Citizens' Initiative allows one million citizens from at least seven EU Member States to invite the European Commission to propose legal acts in areas where it has the power to act. The conditions for admissibility are: (1) the proposed action does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit a legal proposal, (2) it is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and (3) it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union.
Since the beginning of the European Citizens' Initiative, the Commission has registered 127 initiatives.
The content of the initiatives only expresses the views of the organisers and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Commission.
‘EU initiative to protect stray dogs, stray cats and animals in shelters in the EU/non-EU countries '
ECI statistics
ECIs currently collecting signatures
European Citizens' Initiative Forum
#EUTakeTheInitiative campaign
EU and Egypt launch initiatives for sustainable energy cooperation
Today, the European Commission announced two projects in Egypt worth a total of €124.3 million, aimed at advancing renewable energy in the country. €34.3 million will support the Sokhna Green Ammonia project, to accelerate the development and deployment of green hydrogen and related renewable energy initiatives. The other €90 million will contribute to the Egypt Grid Modernisation and Expansion programme, which intends to help Egypt meet its 2030 renewable energy target by adding 22 GW of clean energy to the country's grids.
Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, said: “The Mediterranean has vast, untapped renewable energy potential. We will soon launch T-MED, our key initiative under the Pact for the Mediterranean, to support our partners through win-win investments that attract private funding and strengthen cooperation across the region. By helping projects move forward and making investments safer, we are unlocking major opportunities, while building stronger links between countries.”
The projects will be implemented under the upcoming Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy and Clean-Tech Cooperation Initiative (T-MED) initiative of the Pact for the Mediterranean. They are being presented today at the ‘Egypt's Sustainable Energy Outlook 2040: Cooperation for Shared Prosperity' conference in Cairo, co-hosted by the EU and the Egyptian government which are currently developing strong cooperation in the field of renewable energy under the EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership Agreement.
The Pact aims to mobilise large-scale private investments through the upcoming T-MED Investment Platform, to unlock the renewable energy potential of the region with high-impact projects in the renewable energy, electricity grids and clean tech manufacturing sectors.
(For more information: Guillaume Mercier - Tel.: +32 2 298 05 64; Luca Dilda - Tel.: +32 2 295 21 53)
Commission seeks feedback on review of audiovisual media legislation
The European Commission has launched a public consultation to assess the impact of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and explore options for its review. The AVMSD coordinates national legislation across the EU for all audiovisual media, from traditional TV broadcasts to on-demand services and video-sharing platforms.
This review, planned in the Commission work programme for 2026, aims to simplify and adapt the audiovisual media rules to a rapidly shifting media landscape, as highlighted in the European Democracy Shield. Core priorities include streamlining advertising rules, improving the level playing field between traditional and new digital players, and strengthening the protections of minors on video-sharing platforms. Furthermore, the Commission aims to secure the prominence of media services of general interest while improving coherence with other EU laws, notably the Digital Services Act.
The consultation is organised in four distinct pillars: scope and enforcement, audiovisual commercial communications, protection of viewers and strengthening of media diversity in the internal market.
Feedback is invited from across the spectrum, including citizens, Member State authorities, companies and industry, consumer organisations, non-governmental organisations, including media freedom organisations, associations of journalists, and academic institutions.
The consultation remains open until 1 May 2026. It is currently available in English, and all other EU official languages will follow shortly.
(For more information: Thomas Regnier - Tel.: +32 2 299 10 99; Patricia Poropat - Tel.: +32 2 298 04 85)
Commission launches competition rewarding best projects supported by EU cohesion policy
Today, the European Commission kicks off the ‘2026 REGIOSTARS competition' for outstanding projects supported by the EU's cohesion policy.
This competition, showcasing the positive impact and inclusivity of regional development, is recognised as Europe's label of excellence for EU-funded projects and is now open to all beneficiaries of cohesion funding under five categories: ‘A Competitive and Smart Europe'; ‘A Green Europe'; ‘A Connected Europe'; ‘A Social and Inclusive Europe'; and ‘A Europe Closer to the Citizens'.
In addition, a Public Choice Award will be granted to the finalist project receiving the highest number of votes from the public. The competition will offer projects' promoters the opportunity to share experiences on how different regions solved common economic, social and territorial challenges and contributed to Europe's integration and prosperity.
Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms Raffaele Fitto said: “The REGIOSTARS Awards recognise the most outstanding Cohesion Policy projects that deliver tangible positive impacts in their regions. They showcase how Europe supports development, drives progress, and makes a real difference on the ground. I encourage all exemplary projects to apply for this year's REGIOSTARS competition.”
Applications must be submitted online by Friday, 22 May 2026. More information about the application process and on the winners of past editions is available online.
(For more information: Maciej Berestecki - Tel: +32 229-66483; Isabel Arriaga e Cunha – Tel: +32 229-52117)
Commission appoints a new Director in its Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy
The European Commission appointed today Davinia Wood as the Director for Budget, Communication and General Affairs within its Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). This department is tasked with supporting the economic and social development of all regions of the European Union. This decision takes effect on 16 February.
With over 20 years of experience in strategic management, policy coordination, and international relations, Ms Wood brings a robust track record in advancing key EU initiatives. Her expertise spans a diverse array of domains, from advising the European Commission on security external challenges to working on the internationalisation of European industries, sustainability, innovation and research budget. Ms Wood excels in fostering collaboration among EU Institutions, ensuring that communication through policy documents, speeches, and briefings remains consistent, precise and timely, reinforcing robust relations with the Commission's counterparts. Her noteworthy leadership in team management highlights her strategic, organisational, and operational capabilities. This extensive experience equips her with the insight required to lead the Directorate for Budget, Communication and General Affairs at DG REGIO effectively, developing and pursuing actions leading to the strengthening of the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion with the objective of promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Davinia Wood, a Cypriot national, is currently serving as Head of Unit for Political Coordination, Strategic Management and Interinstitutional Relations and HR Correspondent at DG REGIO. She previously served as Head of Unit in charge of Policy Coordination and Interinstitutional relations Unit at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC). Prior to this, she was Head of Unit for International Affairs at the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME). She also served as Member of Cabinet for Christos Stylianides, former Commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid and crisis management. She joined the European Commission in 2003.
(For more information: Maciej Berestecki - Tel: +32 229-66483; Isabel Otero Barderas - Tel.: +32 2 296 69 25)