European Union

Two journalists who are critical of the regimes in their countries have been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize: Maria Ressa (the Philippines) and Dmitry Muratov (Russia). They stand for all those who stand up for the ideal of freedom of expression in a world in which "democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions," the Nobel Committee said in a statement. Europe's press is delighted, but there are those who would have liked to see a bolder choice.

In the end the pressure was just too much: after initially refusing to resign from office amid ongoing corruption investigations, Sebastian Kurz finally resigned on Saturday. The 35-year-old proposed his party colleague and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as his interim successor, but he intends to remain ÖVP leader. Commentators don't believe much will change anyway.

Rather than going all the way to joint gas purchasing and strategic stocks, a European solidarity mechanism could be done quickly and relatively cheaply to address Europe’s current – and likely future – energy supply problems, argue Christian Egenhofer and Irina Kustova.

Britain and Ireland traded barbs on Twitter on Sunday (10 October) after British Brexit negotiator David Frost restated his view that the EU must agree "significant change" to the Northern Ireland protocol that governs trade and border rules in the province.

A key UN summit tasked with protecting biodiversity officially opens in China and online Monday (11 October), as countries meet to tackle pollution and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference.

The role of gas in the energy transition should be reflected in the EU’s green finance taxonomy, according to the economy and energy spokesperson of Germany's social democratic SPD party, which is expected to lead the next German government coalition.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Finland lobbying the EU to view nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source, the COVID-19 situation in Serbia being the worst in Europe, and so much more.

Greece's police minister on Sunday (10 October) said 250 additional guards would be deployed on the country's land border with Turkey, where thousands of asylum-seekers tried to enter last year.

Germany’s prominent AfD party had gained big in 2017, prompting fears of a new far-right wave in Europe. Following the disappointing result at the 26 September elections, the party has lost much of its splendor.