Euobserver.com

The same Europe that condemns Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine condemns Hamas when it does the same — but not Israel. This is a gift to Moscow and a disgrace to Europe.

While seizing Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction seems a logical option, it presents legal challenges and potential risks to the monetary system. Alternative approaches, such as seizing the proceeds generated by frozen assets, are being considered by Western allies.

Spain and Belgium doubled imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia from January to September 2023, compared to last year, while France saw Russian LNG imports rise by 40 percent, according to a new study.

Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank has drawn French and US warnings, as Israel keeps bombing Gaza after EU leaders appealed for a "pause".

Countries met in Dubai to work towards a new climate agreement, ahead of the UN Climate Summit (COP28) in December — but doublespeak geopolitical rivalry complicates consensus on fossil fuel phase-out.

The newly-proposed scheme, presented by five European and US envoys in separate meetings with Albin Kurti and Aleksandar Vučić, would end the unstable and violence-prone situation of Serbia and Kosovo asserting overlapping sovereignty in northern Kosovo.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will be travelling this week throughout the Western Balkan. Meanwhile, the pre-COP28 on Monday and Tuesday will bring together ministers in Abu Dhabi to prepare for the UN climate talks.

Only two parliaments in the world have more than 50 percent female representation, Rwanda and Bolivia. This week's Nordic parliamentary meeting in Oslo will join that sadly select group, with 54 percent female participation.

The EU has confirmed it is going to strike Russia's diamond industry in upcoming sanctions, spelling trouble for mining giant Alrosa and dozens of other companies.

The Spanish plan aims to reduce the working week to 38.5 hours next year and 37.5 hours by 2025. In EU countries such as Greece or Bulgaria the average working week is over 40 hours.

Unshackled from her former party, Sahra Wagenknecht's xenophobic rhetoric will only increase, in a cynical ploy to gather votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) by stoking social fires.

The Horizon scheme funded 95 projects related to critical raw materials since 2014. Millions of euros went to businesses tied to environmental abuses, others to oligarchs, a Chinese state-owned firm, and another based in a Caribbean tax haven.

EU Commission called on member states at the summit to increase the budget €100bn but few were willing to even consider higher spending, except for Ukraine.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez proposed an international peace summit in six months to address the Palestine-Israel conflict. However, Madrid's attempt to include a humanitarian "ceasefire" reference in the Brussels summit's conclusions failed.

Estonian prime minister Kallas shamed the two overtly pro-Russian leaders in the EU summit on Thursday — Hungary's Orbán and Slovakia's Fico.

The EU Commission invited leaders from the so-called 'Global South' to Brussels to promote its Global Gateway following years of unclarity and underperformance.

The EU commissioners were invited to attend the MEP debate on Pegasus, but neither Didier Reynders nor Věra Jourová showed up.

The European Commission is sending out political signals that its top priority on migration is to shore up borders, send people packing, and prevent others from arriving.

Europe and the US are thus sending the message that human rights and international law apply to some, but not to others. Some countries that flout rights are sanctioned, while others are simply supported.

EU leaders aim to agree on a "humanitarian pause" in the Israel-Hamas war to allow safe deliveries of aid to Gaza — while keeping Ukraine a priority.