European Union in February 2026: the most important developments in economy
In February 2026, the European Union's economic agenda centered on monetary policy and the bloc's competitiveness. The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate at 2%, and President Christine Lagarde said eurozone inflation had cooled to 1.7%. Later in the month she addressed central bank independence and signaled no immediate departure from her post despite conflicting reports. The bank also announced a global backstop facility for the euro. At an EU summit, leaders backed an economic overhaul plan, and French President Emmanuel Macron set a June deadline for a relaunch package. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for simpler regulation, while Macron pointed to cuts in Russian energy supplies as a key factor in the bloc's economic difficulties.
Trade was the second major theme. On 20 February the US Supreme Court ruled against tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, and the EU paused approval of its trade deal with the United States on 23 February. The next day the US told the EU it stands by the agreement, and the EU said it expects the deal to be honored. Elsewhere, the EU reached a free trade deal with India, said it would provisionally apply the agreement with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries, and was reported close to a trade agreement with Australia. China announced duties on some EU dairy products.
Energy and Ukraine were the third theme. EU ambassadors approved a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine, and the European Parliament backed it on 11 February. Hungary, and later Slovakia, then blocked it, tying their position to halted Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary also blocked the 20th sanctions package against Russia, which EU foreign ministers failed to adopt on 23 February. At month end the Commission was examining a legal route around the Hungarian veto.
Brussels also pursued technology companies. The Commission accused TikTok of breaching the Digital Services Act, accused Meta of blocking rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp, opened investigations into X and Shein, and fined Delivery Hero and Glovo a total of 329 million euros for operating a cartel.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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