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Thanks to the EU, you'll no longer need to spend time looking for the right charger because all new devices sold in the EU must now support USB-C charging. This will reduce the number of chargers you need to buy, help minimise electronic waste and simplify your everyday life.

From climate change to digital disruption, and global conflicts to humanitarian crises, 2024 was a year of significant events. Elections took place across the world, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the biggest EU enlargement, and more. Look back at the past year.

EU leaders gathered in Brussels to talk over the EU’s role in the world. Their focus was on Ukraine and on the situation in the Middle East, following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. They also exchanged on the situation in Moldova and Georgia, as well as on the latest progress on enlargement.

A new EU-approved Flight Emissions Label will be available to passengers from next summer, offering them a trustworthy methodology for calculating flight emissions. The label will protect passengers from misleading greenwashing claims made by airline operators.

The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2024 has been awarded to Venezuela’s Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado. They were praised for their pursuit of justice and democracy in Venezuela following contested presidential elections there in July.

Newly adopted EU rules will help ensure drivers who break road traffic rules in another EU country will not go unpunished. The rules enhance cross-border cooperation among EU countries, streamline offender identification, and facilitate fine enforcement.

The EU has signed off on new rules that will significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste. They set binding re-use targets, restrict certain types of single-use packaging and require economic operators to minimise the packaging used. The rules cover the full life cycle of packaging.

An EU study finds that how young Europeans use social media may increase loneliness more than how much time they spend online. Passive consumption of social media was found to reinforce feelings of disconnection. The study is part of the European Parliament’s project Monitoring Loneliness in Europe.

The EU has launched a humanitarian air bridge carrying vital supplies, such as food, medicines, and shelter items, to the people of Syria. The situation on the ground there remains volatile and the EU has increased its humanitarian funding for the region to more than €160 million for 2024.

The EU has issued an updated list of airlines considered unsafe and banned from flying in the EU. The latest update adds Air Tanzania to the list due to safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

EU countries have agreed to remove checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025. Checks on persons at EU internal air and sea borders were abolished in March. The Schengen area now covers 29 countries and 420 million people.

An additional €404 million in aid from the EU Solidarity Fund is helping Greece and Slovenia to recover and rebuild after the devastating climate disasters that hit these countries in 2023. Slovenia was hit by floods last August and September and Greece was hit by cyclone ‘Daniel' last September.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act has entered into force, which will see specific cybersecurity requirements applied to all products connected directly or indirectly to another device or network (except for specified exclusions). These requirements will be imposed on manufacturers and retailers.

Find out how the European Council was created and how it has developed into the strategic EU institution it is today.

Belgian and Dutch authorities have arrested 8 suspects involved in an internationally operating ‘phone phishing’ gang in Belgium and The Netherlands. The fraudsters allegedly scammed victims out of at least several million euros. Eurojust and Europol coordinated and supported the actions.

New product liability rules have entered into force, reflecting the increasing digital features of products and the growing circular economy. The new rules explicitly cover products like software, AI systems or product-related digital services. These changes benefit both consumers and manufacturers.

The EU has agreed to a mutually beneficial partnership with Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The landmark deal will secure and diversify the EU’s supply chains, create new opportunities and cut red tape for businesses, and help put a stop to deforestation.

A new Copernicus Sentinel satellite, Sentinel-1C, has been successfully launched from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite will ensure the EU receives cutting-edge Earth observation data and services freely. The European Space Agency and Arianespace coordinated the launch.

For the ongoing Romanian elections, the Commission has stepped up its monitoring of TikTok. Civil society organisations and online platforms are exchanging information on content deemed a threat to the integrity of elections. TikTok also has to preserve data and evidence linked to the elections.