European waters

Researchers, including France's agricultural research institute INRAE, report that sorghum could help European farming adapt to climate change. The cereal is drought-tolerant and needs less water than staples like maize and wheat, making it a candidate as heatwaves and water restrictions increasingly hit European harvests.

European Commissioners Roswall and Schneider have committed to stronger enforcement of EU water legislation, according to the European Commission's environment department. The pledge signals firmer action to ensure member states comply with EU water rules, a persistent weak spot in environmental policy. Details of specific measures were not immediately available.

A new study maps which European waters face the greatest risk of harm from artificial light pollution. The research highlights coastal and marine areas where nighttime artificial lighting may be damaging ecosystems. The findings give policymakers a clearer picture of where light reduction measures could matter most for protecting marine life.

Vasileios Mingos has been appointed to lead the European Council of ISACs, the body that coordinates Information Sharing and Analysis Centres across Europe. His mandate focuses on strengthening cyber resilience of critical infrastructure, supporting sectoral information-sharing communities that help operators detect threats and respond to attacks affecting energy, transport, water and other essential services.

The European Commission has published source-to-sea reports calling for stronger action on pollution and resilience across Europe's river basins and coastal waters. The reports examine how land-based pressures, including nutrient and chemical pollution, affect rivers, seas and the communities depending on them, and set out recommendations for integrated management. Environment officials and stakeholders are expected to use the findings to shape future EU water and marine policy.

Canada and the European Union are preparing a joint purchase of 50 De Havilland water bombers, aircraft used to fight wildfires. The reported plan would deepen defence and industrial cooperation between Ottawa and Brussels while supporting De Havilland's Canadian production line. The news is drawing attention amid increasingly severe wildfire seasons on both continents.

Norway is urging the European Union to abandon its ban on oil and gas drilling in Arctic waters, according to EnergyNow.com. The dispute places Norway, a major European energy exporter, at odds with EU climate policy and raises questions over Europe's energy security and future access to Arctic resources.

Downing Street is collecting evidence on levels of public support for the United Kingdom rejoining the European Union, according to The Guardian. The reported move puts the question of future EU membership back into UK political debate, touching on one of the most divisive issues in British politics since Brexit. Details on how the evidence is being gathered, and what ministers intend to do with it, were not provided in the report.

The European Commission has introduced rules requiring data centres to disclose their energy and water consumption. The reporting obligations are aimed at improving transparency over the resources used by digital infrastructure at a time of rapidly growing demand driven by cloud services and artificial intelligence. The report from stadt-bremerhaven.de highlights debate over the environmental footprint of data centres across the EU.

The EU's Copernicus Ocean State Report finds that Europe's seas are warming and becoming more acidic, documenting ongoing changes to marine conditions across the region's coastal and offshore waters. The findings highlight the accelerating impact of climate change on European oceans, with implications for marine ecosystems, fisheries and coastal communities.

The European Commission has introduced new reporting obligations requiring data centres operating in the EU to disclose their energy and water consumption. The move targets the sector's growing environmental footprint, driven by cloud services and the boom in AI computing. Operators will need to publish figures on their resource use, giving regulators and the public greater transparency about the infrastructure behind digital services.

The European Commission has urged EU member state governments not to water down its EU Inc proposal, an initiative intended to make it easier to create and scale pan-European companies. The Commission's warning suggests concern that national governments may dilute key elements of the plan as it moves through negotiations.

WWF's EU office has released a policy brief on European Union water policies in times of climate extremes. It argues that droughts and floods are putting Europe's water resources under growing strain, and calls on EU institutions to strengthen implementation and enforcement of existing water legislation.

Calls are mounting for the European Union to tighten how it assesses the risks posed by vendors supplying critical infrastructure. The argument is that current screening of suppliers in sectors such as energy, telecoms and water is insufficient given growing geopolitical tensions and cyber threats. The debate fits into broader EU efforts on supply chain security and technology sovereignty.