European Union

The EU should continue to expand in the Western Balkans and maintain sanctions on Russia, its next foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.

On Tuesday (8 October), three executive vice-presidents are lined up for grilling in the European Parliament. This liveblog covers the hearing of Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia, Economy that Works for People).

The current Czech commissioner for justice, Vera Jourova, was approved for the next commission, as she promised to defend democracy from online threats, and to present ideas about reforming future European elections by 2020.

A report of the so-called "wise men", led by Thomas Wieser, a former EU official, proposes creating a "European Climate and Sustainable Development Bank" in order to channel all EU aid to Africa, like China's 'Belt and Road' initiative, Bloomberg writes. The report, that will be discussed by EU's finance ministers, says huge investments in Africa are needed because of its explosive demographics and future "disorderly migratory pressures".

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a British think tank, a no-deal Brexit would push the UK to its highest debt-level since the 1960s. The think tank said to the BBC "the government is now adrift without any effective fiscal anchor" and that it would be forced to borrow up to $100bn (€112bn). This would create a debt level of 90 percent if the UK's national income.

The European Council has adopted new rules to protect whistle-blowers by 2021, which could save "€5.8 to €9.6bn each year for the EU as a whole". "The new rules will require the creation of safe channels for reporting both within an organisation - private or public - and to public authorities. It will also provide a high level of protection to whistle-blowers against retaliation" it added.

President Tusk congratulated Sebastian Kurz on his election victory and on the tasking to form a new government.

This agreement allows Frontex to assist Montenegro in border management, carry out joint operations and deploy teams in the regions of Montenegro that border the EU, subject to Montenegro's agreement.

President Donald Tusk congratulated António Costa on his victory in the elections in Portugal.

Council reaffirms fundamental rights are the cornerstone of the EU project.

The EU is acceding to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on appellations of origin and geographical indications.

New EU rules aim to reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by making sure that roads, tunnels and bridges are better designed and maintained.

EU adopts new rules to better protect whistle-blowers.

The EU's fragmented market has created barriers for vaccines in Europe. In this Special Report, EURACTIV looks into what a “healthy vaccines ecosystem” is and how its different components could better coordinate to break silos and improve healthcare.

The European Commission has launched a call for tenders to "create the first core service of a digital platform to help fight disinformation in Europe", it said in a statement. The aim is to create a European Digital Media Observatory serving as "a hub for fact-checkers, academics and researchers to collaborate with each other and actively link with media organisations and media literacy experts, and provide support to policy makers".

More than €4 billion of European Union funds were misspent last year, EU auditors estimated in a report released on Tuesday (8 October), which highlighted poor checks in receiving states on how the bloc's funds are invested.

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German businesses have incurred losses worth €3.5bn in bilateral trade between Germany and the UK because of negative effects of Brexit in the first half of this year alone, according to the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA). The president of the BGA warned that the real cost will be much higher and that a no-deal Brexit would have "catastrophic consequences" for German exporters.

In these commissioner hearings politics and the law are very close to one another. The temptation to use legal rules and procedures for political ends is real and present.

Armenia's 2018 uprising has paved the way for a "technological revolution" in the country, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday (7 October), as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation group rallied around the use of technology for regional collaboration.