EU centre widens democracy cooperation as Commission clears six deals

• Enlargement partners can join several ongoing joint projects under the European Centre for Democratic Resilience.
• The Commission approved six merger transactions under the EU Merger Regulation.
• Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is due to discuss EU trade policy at Trade Policy Day.

Democratic resilience

The European Centre for Democratic Resilience extended its cooperation activities to candidate countries and potential candidates on 13 October 2026. The move broadens practical cooperation beyond the EU borders under the European Democracy Shield.

EU centre widens democracy cooperation as Commission clears six deals

In Luxembourg, ministers from member states discussed collaboration with counterparts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine, as well as Kosovo.

At the member states' invitation, enlargement partners can now take part in several joint projects. They include tabletop crisis management exercises and work on common concepts and methodologies to detect foreign information manipulation and interference.

The programme also covers methods for measuring democratic resilience. It includes dedicated training on the protection of journalists, civil society organisations, fact-checkers and politicians.

The Centre was launched on 24 February 2026 at the General Affairs Council. It is already delivering projects with member states, including the Train the trainers capacity building programme.

Jobs and trade

The quality of jobs in the EU has improved over the past decade, according to the 2026 European Employment and Social Outlook published today. The report points to progress in pay, job security and working time.

It says better-quality jobs can raise productivity by improving motivation, reducing staff turnover, encouraging skills development and supporting better work organisation.

The report also cites slowing employment growth, weak productivity growth and pressure on household incomes from high energy prices. It says labour shortages are often more pronounced in poorer-quality jobs.

Europe's labour market remains strong. Wages are back to pre-pandemic levels. But employment growth is slowing, poverty reduction is not yet matching our ambition, and high energy prices are weighing especially on lower-income households.

— Roxana Mînzatu

The Commission said it will present the Quality Jobs Act later this year, following the second-phase consultation of EU social partners.

Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič will speak at Trade Policy Day, which brings together stakeholders to discuss the evolution of trade policy. The event is titled 'Navigating Instability: EU Trade Policy in a Polarised World'.

The Commission said Šefčovič will highlight trade policy as one of the EU's great success stories and structural strengths. It said some 700-thousand EU companies export, supporting over 30 million European jobs.

It also said the event will highlight new trade agreements concluded or signed in 2026 with Mercosur, India, Australia, Mexico and the Philippines.

Merger decisions

The Commission approved six transactions under the EU Merger Regulation. It cleared the acquisition of joint control of Baltic Grain Terminal of Poland by CM Holding A/S of Denmark and Bunge Global SA of Switzerland.

It also cleared Tenaris S.A.'s acquisition of sole control of Artrom Steel Tubes S.A. of Romania, Platinum Equity Group and Nestlé's acquisition of joint control of Nestlé Waters of Luxembourg, and OTP Bank's acquisition of sole control of Luminor Holding AS of Estonia.

The Commission separately cleared Aware and MGIF's acquisition of joint control of SERV Holdings Pty Ltd and SERV Holdings Trust, and Lone Star's acquisition of sole control of ContiTech Deutschland GmbH. In each case, it said the deal would not raise competition concerns.