European Union

The EU top military official voiced support for the unified Bosnian armed forces on 28 October, after Serb leader Milorad Dodik had threatened to pull the Serb component out of the forces and form an exclusively Serb army within Bosnia.

Austria is on course to expand its 5G network, using Chinese supplier Huawei despite other countries refusing to partner with them and some going as far as banning the company due to supposed security risks. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Gradually decriminalizing personal drug use in Europe has had numerous health benefits and helped tackle the taboo of drug addiction, writes Denis Huber.

Deforestation in countries like Brazil is driven by demand for agricultural products in the Global North. That colonialist system has to change, argues Mitzi Jonelle Tan.

Relying solely on raw materials sourced within Europe could incentivise the use of cheaper, non-recyclable batteries, increasing the need to mine virgin materials to power electric vehicles, industry has said.

European Union election observers began their mission in Venezuela on Thursday (28 October), as campaigning kicked off for regional elections next month which are set to include opposition candidates.

COP 26 tests politicians’ metal, DG Trade comms is in fine fettle and plagiarism accusations leveled at Xavier Bettel. 

In today's edition of the Captials, find out more about Russia seeking closer security cooperation with Norway, the Commission, which has agreed to investigate the strict sentencing laws in Slovakia for Marijuana use, and so much more.

The UK has voiced anger over France's seizure of a fishing vessel with the wrong paperwork in a row on post-Brexit licences. France's ambassador to Britain was also ordered to explain "disproportionate threats made against the UK and Channel Islands" by British foreign minister Liz Truss after France threatened new customs checks and island-electricity cuts. "It's not war, but it is a fight," French seas minister Annick Girardin said.

“BiH’s path from Dayton to Brussels leads to reforms including step-by-step, electoral legislation and economic reforms that will benefit all citizens,” said US Western Balkan Special Envoy Gabriel Escoba at the Subcommittee: Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber in the...

Moldovan prime minister Natalia Gavrilița has declined to confirm reports of Gazprom blackmail, but thanked her EU "friends" for their support in dealing with Russia.

MEPs are going to Taiwan next week despite Chinese threats of new sanctions over EU contacts with Taipei.

As world leaders flock to Rome for the G20 summit, President Joe Biden kicks off a trip aimed at reasserting US international credentials, starting at a meeting Friday (29 October) with Catholic ally Pope Francis.

A group of 12 EU countries on Thursday called on Israel to reverse its plants to build 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank, Reuters reported. "We call on both parties to build on steps taken in recent months to improve cooperation and reduce tensions," says the joint statement signed by the foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

French president Emmanuel Macron told Australian PM Scott Morrison that the scrapping of a multibillion-dollar submarine contract "broke the relationship of trust" and said Canberra should propose "tangible actions" to heal the diplomatic rift, The Guardian writes. In mid-September, Australia announced that, instead of French submarines, it would work with the US and the UK to acquire at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines in a partnership to be known as Aukus.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the reform of the Polish disciplinary system for judges is a "conditio sine qua non" to receive the recovery funds. "We want to put into that recovery and resilience plan a clear commitment to dismantle the disciplinary chamber, to end or reform the disciplinary regime and to start a process to reinstall the judges," she said.

A six-party opposition alliance that aims to topple Hungary's Viktor Orbán in elections next year is four points ahead of Orbán's Fidesz party, according to an opinion poll, The Guardian writes. The poll, published 10 days after the alliance chose a small-town mayor, Péter Márki-Zay, as its prime ministerial candidate, showed support for the united opposition at 39 percent, compared with 35 percent for Fidesz, but 23 percent undecided.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the bloc is expected to produce more than 3.5 billion doses of vaccines next year. She said that the majority of these doses will be exported to other countries. On top of exports, the EU and its member states have committed to donating 500 million doses of vaccines by mid-2022.

A group of MEPs resorted to scare tactics and false information on Thursday (28 October) to rail against European Parliament plans to impose a digital green pass in order to gain access to its buildings.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for climate leadership, warning that next week's UN climate summit in Glasgow (COP26) is "a moment of truth" for climate action.