EU budget errors climb for a second year
On spending they issued an adverse opinion for the seventh year in a row, meaning the errors were material and pervasive.
Economy
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Brussels presses Beijing for import curbs as its own deadline falls due
Maroš Šefčovič lands in China on October 8 with the trade gap widening by about €1 billion a day and no public concession to show for four months of dialogue.
Brussels moves to speed up EU product standards and make them free to read
The European Commission wants to cut standard-setting from six years to four, though it took court rulings to force it to open texts that already carry the force…
French AI flagship Mistral announces new model
Firms and states, it said, should not have to rely on a closed-model vendor that could "arbitrarily turn off their cyber defence capabilities".
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Tusk government confirms delays in construction of Poland’s nuclear power stations
The technology which will be used in the construction of the proposed power plants will be foreign.
Traders build record bets against the euro as energy costs and French debt weigh
The single currency has slid to its weakest level against the dollar since May 2025, with speculative short positions now at an all-time high.
RN sets out budget plans with a deficit below 3 per cent and €140 billion in savings
Le Pen said the adjustment required had been raised from the €125 billion previously promised to "€140 billion net of savings in 2032 compared with 2026".
Brussels sends Moldova more growth plan cash as two reform targets go unmet
The third payment under the €1.
ECB pushes cross-border bank mergers to close the gap with the US
Boris Vujčić said domestic takeovers had left euro area lenders without the scale to match American rivals, though fewer banks would also mean less choice for…
Eurozone inflation hits three-year high
The rate climbed to 3.
UK borrowing costs rise to highest level since 1998
Five-year yields, which are more sensitive to the outlook for interest rates and inflation, reached their highest since July 2008.
US diesel export ban threat presses Europe to open emergency fuel stocks
Washington has asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels from emergency stocks, with member states meeting the European Commission on October 2 to…
Italy asks Brussels for more wiggle room in the budget rules
Higher inflation, she said, had to be taken into account when the permitted deficit was calculated.
Ireland races to rescue EU capital markets overhaul
Dublin has a week left to bridge a decade-old split over who polices Europe's financial markets.
Brussels threatens Spain with court action over consumer credit delay
The European Commission has given Madrid two months to adopt the bloc's new credit rules before asking judges to impose financial penalties.
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Brussels admits energy costs are ‘extremely high’ as it rules out shortages for now
The European Commission said oil, gas and diesel were trading well above their historical averages, though it insisted supply to the bloc remained secure.
Romania lodges final EU recovery claim hours after another cabinet falls
Bucharest met the deadline with minutes to spare, though five months without a government have already cost the country hundreds of millions of euros.
Brussels asks capitals to ban patio heaters as gas stores sit low
Wholesale gas for winter has roughly doubled since January, to about €70 a megawatt-hour.
Member states back near-zero residue limits for banned pesticides in imported food
The Council has agreed a negotiating mandate that tightens import rules while handing longer approvals to pesticides still used inside the EU.
Dutch intelligence service warns not to hold secret talks in a modern car
Microphones fitted for voice control and emergency calls can, in technical terms, be switched on from outside the vehicle.
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EU’s top court rejects Poland’s bid to suspend Mercosur trade deal
The deal also triggered mass protests by European farmers, who fear competition from cheaper imports that do not meet EU standards.
Dutch police arrest alleged ShinyHunters leader suspected of plotting murders abroad
The 24-year-old was seized in Amsterdam six days before the hacking group claimed to have broken into an FBI recruitment site.
Rama says ‘science’, not ‘ideology’, will decide fate of Kushner project
Albania's Prime Minister used a Brussels platform to defend the Adriatic resort scheme that has brought protesters onto the streets since late May.
Milei gives Britain two weeks to halt Falklands oil project
Buenos Aires has threatened to take the Sea Lion development to a United Nations maritime tribunal in a dispute that also touches EU trade policy.
Brussels asks capitals to curb gas and electricity use as storage runs low
The European Commission's energy chief wrote to national ministers before an informal council in Dublin, warning that reserves had entered the heating season far…
Israel expels Dutch diplomats over settlement goods ban
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the decision on Sunday, once The Hague’s ban on settlement goods had entered into force.
US seeks to join Musk’s court challenge to EU digital fine
Washington's request lands in a case where X is already backed by Alliance Defending Freedom International, which accuses the European Commission of trying to pierce…
Pope Leo XIV tells UNESCO artificial intelligence cannot answer the search for meaning
The first papal address to the UN body in 46 years came as the European Commission moved to loosen parts of its own AI rulebook.
Brussels insists EU gas supply is ‘stable’ despite depleted reserves
The European Commission has said households are protected even though storage sites are far emptier than usual ahead of winter.
German industry calls for stricter China policy
“Systemic competition with China’s economy is increasingly challenging the open social market economy and requires an appropriate industrial and trade policy…