Library blog

With Ireland holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, it’s the perfect time to shine a light on the country’s remarkable libraries.

Among the topics discussed in the present Think Tank review are: the state of Union address, the EU’s voting rules and the new enlargement round, Ireland’s presidency priorities on agriculture and fisheries, digitalising Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises, the 2028-2034 EU budget, the burden-sharing efforts of the US and its allies, a security deal between the US, Denmark, and Greenland; and a transatlantic strategy for critical minerals for dismantling China’s supply chain weapon.

Forecasting the next steps in Ukraine's military evolution; how to fight Putin’s war on reality; President Trump blames Kyiv for high diesel prices, who is really disrupting the market, and what  Ukraine should do; Ukraine’s Black Sea attacks take a toll on Russia’s economy; and hunger on the horizon due to the new Black Sea grain crisis are some of the topics covered in the present update.

Europe faces a crisis driven by rising house prices. Access to affordable, sustainable and good-quality housing has become one of the EU's most pressing problems. The Council Library has produced a reading guide on this topic.

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.