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Latvian prime minister Arturs Kariņš' centre-right New Unity party came first in elections on Sunday with 19 percent of the vote, putting him on course to form a new coalition to stay in office. "First and foremost on everyone's minds is how we all get through the winter ... and that we all remain united behind Ukraine," he said. Voters abandoned left-leaning, Russia-friendly parties, such as Harmony (with 5 percent).

EU commissioner Ylva Johansson's words on refugee protection were welcome. But, worryingly, the commitments made by EU leaders at the forum have not translated into action. There is still time for them to save face — but it's running out.

Cities and regions can play a crucial role to respond to the energy crisis. To do so, we need to invest in innovative solutions, appropriate infrastructure including cross-border, renewable energy but also in other environmentally sustainable types of energy.

All the articles you should not have missed this week.

Russian president Vladimir Putin invoked Jesus, Satan, and transsexual bogeymen in a Kremlin ceremony for carving up Ukraine on Friday.

MEPs at the Strasbourg plenary are expected to discuss Russia, Iran, Hungary, and vote on common chargers for consumer devices.

EU energy ministers have adopted a package of measures to intervene in the electricity markets and reduce high energy prices. But the main topic of the day was how to deal with the gas price itself.

Anna and Mariya Muzychuk are world champion grandmaster chess players from Ukraine. On Thursday, they played an exhibition event in Brussels. EUobserver was able to speak to Anna on how the war has impacted her and the game.

The EU and Australia should aim to proactively reduce vulnerabilities and dependencies. Both have strong economic links to China, which aims to intimidate the EU and Australia in the hope that it can change our political positions.

EU energy ministers reached an agreement on Friday on measures to reduce high energy prices during a council meeting in Brussels, the Czech EU Council presidency announced. The proposal includes a binding target to reduce electricity consumption, a cap on market revenues from low-cost electricity producers such as renewables and nuclear power plants and a so-called "solidarity contribution mechanism" to channel excess profits from fossil-fuel extractors to consumers.

"Russian disinformation is almost like a nightmare. It takes the very worst of us, our worst beliefs and deepest fears, and amplifies them through social media algorithms".

Energy ministers are meeting on Friday to discuss ways to reduce energy prices and shield citizens and industry from soaring bills. Here are the most important issues.

EUobserver spoke with several business figures and all confirmed they voted for Georgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy because it promised stability, less bureaucracy and tax cuts. Matteo Salvini's anti-EU rhetoric scared them, while they trust Meloni has "more common sense".

The EU Commission said Thursday it would file a legal challenge against Malta for its golden passport program, which allows wealthy foreigners to buy citizenship, and access to the EU's Schengen zone, for an investment of around €1m. Malta suspended it for Russians and Belarusians, but continues for all other nationalities. The commission argues that the scheme breaks EU rules because it does not require beneficiaries to live in Malta.

Some have tried to justify Big Tech's meagre tax payments in EU states with heavier tax burdens by emphasising the fact that these companies create jobs and invest in next-generation technologies. However, their market dominance comes at a steep cost.

Academics and biotech research organisations with corporate interests have been leading the lobby campaign to deregulate new genomic techniques in the EU — using 'climate-friendly' and 'science-based' narratives, according to a report.

A vast network of European ships helps keep Putin's oil economy afloat. European vessels have shipped millions of tonnes of oil, gas and coal from Russian ports in the six months since the invasion, Investigate Europe and Reporters United reveal.

The EU is aiming to blacklist Russian celebrity philosopher Alexander Dugin and strike at Russia's oil, steel, and forestry industries in its latest sanctions, new proposals say.

The Netherlands is the only EU state where the minimum income is above the poverty line. A minimum income is not a wage but rather a social safety net to ensure people do not end up destitute.

The EU is aiming to ban Russian imports worth €7bn a year in its next round of sanctions, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen declared Wednesday, without saying which new products would be hit. It's also proposing to ban more dual-use high-tech exports and impose a price cap on Russian oil. New blacklists will for the first time impose visa-bans and asset-freezes on people helping Russia circumvent EU sanctions.