On 20 February, the Chairperson of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ignazio Cassis, concluded an official visit to Sarajevo, where he met with members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the leadership of the Central Election Commission. They discussed OSCE support for democratic institutions, electoral integrity for the October 2026 general elections, and the implementation of the Dayton-Paris Agreement. Ignazio Cassis emphasised the importance of constructive dialogue, respect for international commitments, and cooperation with local authorities and civil society.

On 19 February, Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova appointed a government led by Andrey Gyurov ahead of new parliamentary elections scheduled for the spring. The government comprises 21 members, including six women.

On 22 February, the European Commission requested full clarification on the measures the United States intends to take following the Supreme Court's 20 February ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The current situation is not conducive to the establishment of 'fair, balanced and mutually beneficial' transatlantic trade and investment.

Until 14 June, the Lille Museum of Modern Art (LaM) is hosting a retrospective dedicated to the artist Wassily Kandinsky, a major figure in 20th-century art. Co-organised with the Centre Pompidou, the exhibition explores a little-known aspect of his work: the fundamental role of images in the development of his artistic thinking. Through an exceptional collection of works and archives, notably from Nina Kandinsky's bequest to the Centre Pompidou and supplemented by loans from European institutions, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the importance of images in the work of one of the founders of abstract art.

On 20 February, the British, French, German, Italian and Polish defence ministers met in Krakow as part of the Group of Five. They announced the launch of the Low-Cost Effectors & Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative. This project involves the development of advanced low-cost air defence systems, such as drones and autonomous missiles, with the first project due to be delivered by 2027, offering a unique opportunity to leverage Europe's funding, leadership, artificial intelligence and autonomy in the field of defence.

Slovenians are invited to elect 90 members of the lower house of parliament on 22 March. The Svoboda movement, led by outgoing Prime Minister Robert Golob, appears to be struggling in the polls, trailing behind former Prime Minister Janez Janša's SDS. Neither seems capable of winning on its own, and the main interest of the 22 March election will be to determine which coalition government can be formed.

French President Emmanuel Macron has adopted the first National Strategy to Combat Foreign Information Manipulation, developed under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security. This strategy calls for raising public awareness of the risks of disinformation, regulating online platforms and generative artificial intelligence services, strengthening the national operational capacity of institutional actors (Viginum, diplomatic and military networks) and non-institutional actors (open source intelligence channels – OSINT – information actors, journalists, researchers, etc.), and the structuring of a European community to combat information manipulation with the implementation of a coordinated assistance strategy during periods of vulnerability linked to election deadlines.

On 22 February, the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games was held. In keeping with tradition, the Greek delegation led the procession, as the founding country of the Games, followed by the host country, Italy, and then the other delegations. In total, the Member States of the European Union won 164 medals: 54 gold, 56 silver and 54 bronze. The Paralympic Games will be held from 6 to 15 March.

On 19 February, the Council of Europe published its second collection of experiences concerning youth work in Ukraine during wartime. Twenty-three people contributed their personal accounts, in which they share stories of resilience and perseverance, explain how they defend freedom, democracy and human rights, and describe how they help society and its young people on a daily basis. This collection is part of the Council of Europe's project entitled 'Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV', carried out in cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

On 20 February, UN Women's Head of Humanitarian Action, Sofia Calltorp, returned from a mission to Ukraine. She paints a grim picture of the situation for women in the country, with sectors where they are in the majority, such as health, education, social services and commerce, among the hardest hit. According to UN Women, since February 2022, more than 5,000 women and girls have been killed and around 14,000 injured in the country. Despite this deteriorating environment, women's organisations remain a pillar of the humanitarian response, distributing aid, supporting local employment, assisting victims of violence and participating in economic and political reconstruction.

On 23 February, at a press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb called on the European Union to continue to increase 'pressure' on Russia in the war in Ukraine. They announced their intention to move forward with the European Union's 20th package of sanctions, which Hungary is threatening to veto. They indicated that discussions on this issue will be held in the coming days.