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The European Court of Justice registered 34 cases of burnout in 2021. "It is certainly a constant concern to ensure to a work life balance," said Agostino Placco, a senior official at the Luxembourg-based court. The European Court of Auditors also had cases. "We had seven which is very high for us," said Zacharias Kolias, a senior official. "We never had this high number," he said.

EU lawmakers agreed to reconsider the costly renovation of the Spaak hemicycle in Brussels, but they are moving ahead with talks to acquire a new building in Strasbourg.

The European Commission won't comment on the current fray surrounding UK politics. "We have absolutely no comment to make on internal British politics and the selection process for a new prime minister," said Eric Mamer, the commission's chief spokesperson, when asked about Rishi Sunak possibly becoming the next prime minister. Sunak is reportedly the firm favourite, following the resignation of Liz Truss who lasted only 45 days in the role.

Russia's destruction of Ukraine's power supplies is meant to push freezing refugees into the EU, Kyiv has warned.

Patriarchal violence is defined by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women as a collective term for the violence that is experienced throughout the world and that is rooted in the patriarchal power structures it defends.

Turkey has beaten and forced hundreds of recognised Syrian refugees back into Syria, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. "We wrote hundreds but I imagine it's maybe the tip of the iceberg," said one of its researchers.

The European Parliament will proceed with allowing the recovery fund to be used for energy transition, and EU Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans will set out proposals on zero pollution.

"The idea is not bad", said one minister, with others arguing that the parliament's proposals on transnational lists, common constituency, and possibly voting on a weekday are steps too far for the voters.

All the EU stories you should not have missed this week.

The EU plans to provide Ukraine with €1.5bn per month in financial aid next year, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, after the meeting with EU leaders in Brussels. Ukraine, she said, needs approximately €3bn to €4bn per month for basic resources. The EU's overall figure will amount to €18bn next year. EU finance ministers will now work on "the appropriate mechanism," von der Leyen said.

The outcome of the two-day meeting of EU leaders did not deliver any clear agreement on whether and how to limit gas prices — but some believe EU ministers will agree on emergency measures in the coming weeks.

French president Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that France will leave the controversial Energy Charter Treaty, following Poland, Spain and the Netherlands. All EU states are signatories of the treaty bar Italy which withdrew in 2016 — but is still involved in arbitration because this treaty protects investments for decades. Germany has also announced plans to withdraw from this treaty. EU countries' exit stampede comes after two-year modernisation talks.

"I am very prepared to go to Ankara as soon as possible," Sweden's new conservative prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on Thursday during an EU summit in Brussels. The move was quickly welcomed by Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while repeating that as long as Sweden does not extradite terrorists wanted by Turkey, Ankara will not approve Swedish Nato membership, Turkish pro-government news site Daily Sabah reported.

No formal agreement on new European joint debt was reached by the European Council on Thursday. But leaving the summit German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would "look into" what is possible, ostensibly changing his strong opposition to new EU joint debt. Mario Draghi, who attended his last EU summit as Italian premier, had strongly insisted on "a considerable common fund...not only for investments, but also to mitigate prices."

EU leaders agreed in the early hours of Friday (21 October) to keep exploring options to reduce energy prices. In their summit conclusions, leaders called on energy ministers and the EU commission to "submit concrete decisions" on a "temporary dynamic price corridor on natural gas transactions" that would limit price spikes, and a price cap on gas used to generate electricity, including an impact assessment on the so-called Iberian model.

Some see the UK's turmoil as a result of Brexit. The UK and the EU are still locked in negotiations after London, under Truss' leadership, planned to upend existing agreements on post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland.

"This story will be largely written in Iran, but it does not mean the outside world cannot do anything."

Spain, Portugal and France reached a deal to create a submarine "green corridor" between Barcelona and Marseille to transport natural gas, and, at a later stage, green hydrogen.

Liz Truss stepped down from her role as a prime minister following a tumultuous 45 days in office. "I recognise... given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party," she said. The downfall was initiated after her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, had presented a mini-budget on 23 September that received widespread backlash, followed by the resignation of her home secretary Suella Braverman.

Germany would follow Poland, Spain and the Netherlands, which all announced in recent days that they would leave the agreement.