Library blog

On 5 June 2026, the GSC Transparency Service held a conference to mark 25 years of Regulation 1049/2001, bringing together judicial, academic and institutional perspectives on access to documents, confidentiality and the future of EU transparency.

Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in minerals that are essential to the global energy transition. A recent Council Library lecture explored the region’s role in global supply chains and the opportunities and challenges of turning mineral wealth into local value.

Discover our selection of books recently added to the Council Library collection.

The digital euro, the EU’s digital currency project, was presented by the European Commission in June 2023 as part of its Digital Euro Package. The package proposed a legal framework for its introduction, while safeguarding access to and the use of cash. In October 2025, the Eurogroup called for the project to move forward. The Council Library has also produced a reading guide on the digital euro.

How Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has revitalised the EU enlargement process; critical raw materials in the context of the EU’s green and digital transition; the EU savings and investments union project and capital markets reform; the need for a European fossil fuel supply strategy; NATO and Europe’s future defence; trade relations and cooperation between the EU and the Gulf states; the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S.-Canada trade breakdown are some of the topics dealt with in the present Think Tank review.

Putin’s mobilization moment; the hard road to a modest peace with Russia after Ukraine; Ukraine strikes Russia’s central nervous system; the challenges facing Ukraine’s local government in wartime and the lessons Europe can draw from the Ukrainian power grid are some of the topics discussed in the present update.

Europe's energy system is undergoing a major transformation. The move towards renewable energy is changing how we produce, use and distribute energy, and energy security and affordability remain key challenges. Explore the Council Library's selection of resources on the EU energy transition.

On 23 June 2026, the Council Library hosted Desmond Dinan and Ralf Drachenberg, authors of Understanding the European Council, for a lunchtime discussion exploring the institution’s evolving role, how it works and its relationship with the other EU institutions.

Discover our selection of books recently added to the Council Library collection.

The enlargement negotiations and the progress of the eight candidate countries; recommendations for the incoming Irish presidency of the Council of the EU; Europe’s evolving economic policy, securing markets for domestic industries and boosting business; ways to align climate and trade; President Trump's visit to China and its implications for Europe; EU–China relations; Europe's new security architecture, and the global economic consequences of the 2026 Middle East war are covered in the present edition.