Euobserver.com

The European Commission will present on Tuesday (18 October) a package of measures to tackle the energy crisis, including a temporary "dynamic" gas price cap mechanism aimed at curbing price volatility — here's what came before.

There may be better ways to address the current crisis without pushing the economy into recession, but those will require more coordination between central banks and government, according to economist Philipp Heimberger.

EU foreign affairs ministers on Monday agreed to set up a military assistance mission to Ukraine, aiming to "provide individual, collective and specialised training to Ukraine's armed forces", in a statement by the council of the EU. The mission will operate in EU member states' territories and will have its headquarters in Brussels. The mission will also ensure coordination with member states' bilateral activities supporting Ukraine.

Concern is growing Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is delaying ratification of Finland and Sweden's Nato accession for the sake of "dirty political games".

The deadly attack at an LGBTIQ establishment in Bratislava re-emphasises the need for the EU to step up its efforts to prioritise its protection of its LGBTIQ citizens.

The EU Commission on Tuesday is expected to put forward emergency measures on energy — but it is not clear if it will include price-caps, before leaders discuss the plans at a summit in the second half of the week.

The bloc's trade deficit with China currently stands at €249bn. Will Europe find the necessary strength to continue to deepen ties with Taiwan and resist threats of economic reprisals coming from Beijing?

The Olaf report on Frontex published in full this week highlights once again one of the cruelest euphemisms used in talking about people wanting to cross borders.

Dutch and Belgian journalists, working with the Dossier Center, an NGO in London, have revealed the identities of 18 more Russian diplomats expelled from the EU in April on grounds of espionage.

A confidential report into the EU's border agency Frontex has been leaked in full by German transparency campaigners FragDenStaat and German media outlet Der Spiegel.

The sharks are circling around the REACH proposal on 'forever chemicals' and there are rumours that it could be dropped from the commission's agenda. If true this would be a major coup for the chemicals industry and its political allies.

Growing numbers of Cubans, Indians, and Turks coming via Albania and Serbia to claim asylum in the EU has prompted talk of suspending Western Balkan visa-free travel.

Belarus dictator Lukashenka has been reluctant to send his own troops to Ukraine, but he also cannot survive without Putin's support. Tsikhanouskaya told MEPs that it would be "political suicide" if Lukashenka sent Belarusian troops to Ukraine.

Backing by 143 UN members Wednesday for an EU-drafted resolution condemning Russian annexation of eastern Ukrainian regions was "remarkable", International Crisis Group expert Richard Gowan told EUobserver from New York. "Diplomats had been predicting 125 to 130 positive votes", he said. The annexation "forced" those sitting on the fence "to make a stand". Russian missile strikes on civilian targets in the run-up to the vote also "influenced some states".

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Thursday passed a resolution declaring Russia as a "terrorist" regime. The text was adopted with 99 votes in favour and one abstention (Turkey). It says recent nuclear threats made by Moscow are in breach of international law — which prompts questions over Russia's seat on the UN Security Council. Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in March.

Ukraine has filed court papers against 45 suspected war criminals out of whom 10 have been already convicted for crimes committed since the Russian invasion began in late February, said Ukraine's prosecutor general

MEPs in the industry committee voted to include nuclear and low-carbon hydrogen projects to the list eligible for finance under an EU green fund.

Despite citizen mobilisation and political support for the upcoming EU ban on cages for farmed animals, the lobbyists of Big Agri-food industry are now asking the EU for delays and loopholes that would make the new law ineffective in practice.

Estonia approved a new military aid package to Ukraine on Thursday. "We are sending winter gear, equipment and ammunition to Ukraine. We will deliver them fast," Estonia's prime minister Kaja Kallas tweeted. Anti-tank weaponry would be replaced with new weapons systems expected to be delivered in December, according to the ministry of defence. Training programmes are also being planned. Estonia has provided military aid to Ukraine worth over €255m.

Long-standing rule of law and democracy issues in Hungary "remain largely unaddressed", therefore the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Strasbourg-based rights watchdog, has voted to place the country under its full monitoring procedure. Hungary is only the second EU country, besides Poland, to be placed under full monitoring, which involves regular visits from rapporteurs, dialogue with the authorities, and assessments of rule of law developments.