Explainers

The EU can impose sanctions on individuals and entities in response to human rights abuses and violations worldwide.

The EU is taking decisive steps towards managing space traffic to ensure the safe, sustainable, and secure use of space as satellite activity increases.

The EU condemns human rights abuses in Iran, as well as Iran's nuclear proliferation activities and its military support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. It has adopted a number of sanctions in this regard.

Montenegro applied for EU membership in December 2008 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2010. The EU-Montenegro accession negotiations started in June 2012. So far, all 33 negotiation chapters have been opened and 18 have been provisionally closed.

Child sexual abuse is a widespread and often hidden crime. The EU is strengthening its rules to better prevent abuse online and offline, bring perpetrators to justice and improve protection and support for victims.

EU sanctions can target governments of non-EU countries, entities and individuals. The EU can impose restrictive measures in order to implement UN resolutions, to reinforce UN sanctions or on its own initiative.

The EU has actively supported international efforts to achieve peace and stability in Sudan since the beginning of the war in 2023. The EU and its member states together are the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Sudan.

Organic farming produces food by means of natural methods that have a limited environmental impact. The EU wants 25% of its farmland to be organic by 2030 and has clear rules to support that goal.

EU member states' defence expenditure sharply increased between 2021 and 2026. The EU has taken a number of initiatives to complement and amplify member states’ individual efforts, and to boost competitiveness.

Common accessibility standards make sure products and services in the EU are easier to use, in particular for older people and for people with disabilities.