'He Is Afraid of the Islamists in Britain' - Israeli Minister Tells Far-right U.K. Agitator Tommy Robinson That Keir Starmer Is 'Weakest PM Since Chamberlain' in Visit to Israel
The leader of Britain's growing far-right movement spent Thursday on the Gaza border, where he heard from Israelis who fought in the war. On Saturday night, he will deliver a talk at a Tel Aviv gathering
European Socialists expel Slovak PM’s party
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he was “proud” after his party was officially expelled from the Party of European Socialists on Thursday. The decision, adopted unanimously at the PES congress in Amsterdam, ends Smer’s 20-year affiliation with Europe’s centre-left political family.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/european-socialists-expel-slovak-pms-party/
European Commission calls on Israel to lift restrictions on aid deliveries to Gaza
Israel says the reduced amount of aid is in response to Hamas allegedly breaching the truce agreement by returning the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages too slowly.
Kremlin investment chief urges Elon Musk to build Alaska-Russia tunnel
Kirill Dmitriev says undersea ‘Putin-Trump Tunnel’ should be built by Boring Company
https://www.ft.com/content/d6c0f603-c04e-4751-944d-63b7db38ef8e
Polish government proposes new rights for unmarried partners, including same-sex couples
Poland’s ruling coalition has presented a bill that would allow unmarried partners, including same-sex couples, to sign an agreement granting them certain rights.
EU repeats request for Israel to let media into Gaza
"The EU has been consistently calling on Israel to allow international journalists access to Gaza since the beginning of the conflict and will continue to do so in this new context," an EU spokesperson told EUobserver on Friday (17 October).
Mainstream loses control of agenda by mimicking far-right, study finds
During the 2024 European Parliament election campaign, centrist politicians warned about the threat posed by far-right parties to democracies. Yet experts suggest the political mainstream itself is partly responsible for their growing success.
Romanian Foreign Minister backs EU 'decision-making reforms’ to speed up enlargement
European Council President António Costa has already floated removing the need for EU leaders' unanimous approval to open the next stage of a candidate country's accession bid.
Brussels eyes €25B more in Russian state assets across EU
The European Union is about to use the cash value of €140 billion worth of frozen Russian state assets to finance a mega loan to Ukraine. But the European Commission still wants more, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.
https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-russia-assests-eu-billions-mega-loan-ukraine-finance/
EU considers withholding funds from countries that don’t fix pension systems
Brussels fears Europe’s aging population will cause fiscal crises unless member countries address unsustainable retirement systems.
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-funds-pension-systems-budget-legal-protests/
‘We are ready’: Orbán hails planned Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest
The U.S. president says he will meet Russia’s leader in Hungary.
https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-donald-trump-meeting/
Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and North Macedonia join EU's SEPA scheme
Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and North Macedonia joined the Single Euro Payments Area or SEPA, enabling quicker and cheaper financial transactions across the EU.
EU plans to expand Erasmus program to southern Mediterranean countries
The inclusion of non-EU students from the bloc’s partners in Africa and the Middle East is part of the broader “Pact for the Mediterranean.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-expand-erasmus-program-southern-mediterranean-africa-middle-east/
EU Commission presents defense plan to protect ‘every’ centimeter of Europe
The EU executive wants to coordinate efforts by member countries to speed up defense preparations.
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-presents-defense-roadmap-from-russia/
Boris Johnson admits writing books using ChatGPT
Former prime minister said ChatGPT was “frankly fantastic” and AI would help society “because we’re all simple.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-boris-johnson-admits-writing-books-using-chatgpt-ai/
EU to set up European Space Shield in 2026
The goal is to beef up countries' capabilities to protect their space assets, including satellites powering comms, observation, and navigation
https://www.euractiv.com/news/eu-to-set-up-european-space-shield-in-2026/
Hungary’s Orban Signals $1.8 Billion Pre-Election Pension Bonus
Hungary’s government is planning to send out an extra monthly pension payment in a bid to win over retirees as part of voter-friendly measures ahead of next April’s elections.
Embattled French PM Sébastien Lecornu survives no-confidence votes in Parliament
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two votes of no-confidence Thursday that could have toppled his fragile new government and plunged France deeper into political chaos.
Merz Calls for European Stock Exchange to Challenge US, Asia
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for the creation of a pan-European stock exchange as part of a broader push to help companies deal with competition from the US and Asia.
Danish 'dilemma' as it tries to strike EU deal on 'chat control' by December
The Danish council presidency is continuing discussions for a compromise on the controversial proposal to combat online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by surveilling chat apps — as privacy groups urge for alternative solutions.