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The spokesman of the Greek government, Stelios Petsas, said on Sunday that Greece wants to reduce migrants flows during this winter and increase the expulsions of those who are not considered refugees, reported the Greek daily Ekathimerini. Pestas also addressed the transfers of migrants from overcrowded island hotspots to the mainland saying that "we all understand the Greek society's fatigue, but Greeks have never turned their backs to humanity".

French interior minister Christophe Castaner on Sunday said in a letter to police that he wants to increase vigilance in the coming days to prevent possible revenge attacks in the country - after the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Reuters writes. "The possible intensification of jihadist propaganda following this death, which could possibly call for acts of vengeance, requires the most extreme vigilance," said the letter.

EU states ought to create a new anti-money laundering agency and a mechanism to coordinate national investigations, according to a draft proposal by the Finnish EU presidency seen by Reuters. They should also align rules on fines, with some states currently applying tiny penalties, the draft, to be adopted in December, added. The move comes in the wake of several banking scandals, chief among them Danske Bank's Russia affair.

Some 300 military police from the Russian region of Chechnya and 20 armoured vehicles have joined other Russian forces near Turkey's border with Syria under a deal between Ankara and Moscow, Russia said Friday. The Russian build-up comes after US forces left the area, though some US units have stayed to guard oil fields. It also bodes ill for German plans to send an international peacekeeping mission to the region.

Thierry Breton, France's EU nominee for single market commissioner, could have a conflict of interest because the French tech firm of which he is CEO and shareholder, Atos, receives EU subsidies, French opposition MEPs have said. French president Emmanuel Macron had "clearly learnt nothing" from the European Parliament's shock rejection of his first choice for the job, French left-wing MEP Manon Aubry said. French Green MEPs also joined the attack.

Westminster will vote on a possible election, while EU ambassadors will reconvene to decide on the length of a Brexit extension. The awkward Brexit tango continues.

Lawmakers in France on Friday approved a budget for two years of medicinal cannabis experiments, AFP reported. The experiments, which could target 3,000 sick people in France, will seek to determine whether cannabis derivatives can alleviate the symptoms of certain illnesses and in which doses. Seventeen EU member states have already authorised cannabis-based treatment for some specific illnesses. Earlier this year, MEPs backed the medical use of cannabis.

Police in the UK on Friday arrested a married couple connected to the deaths of 39 people whose corpses were found in the back of a refrigerated lorry earlier this week outside London. The couple are both from Warrington in the UK. Police initially suspected the 39 were all Chinese nationals, however, the BBC has spoken to the families of three Vietnamese people who think their relatives may be victims.

Ambassadors of EU states on Friday agreed on updating rules for the maritime transport sector to reduce administrative burdens and facilitate fuel usage reporting. "The maritime transport sector has to become more energy-efficient and use less fuel to contribute to our climate goals," said the Finish minister of environment, Krista Mikkonen. The shipping sector could account for 17 percentage of global CO2 emissions in 2050 if left unregulated.

European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen will meet the new candidates for commissioners from France, Thierry Breton, and Hungary, Oliver Varhelyi, on Monday, a commission spokeswoman said Friday. Earlier on, candidates from France, Hungary, and Romania were rejected by the European Parliament. The new Romanian government is sill yet to nominate a new candidate. The von der Leyen commission will take office with at least one month delay.

Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states shelved a decision on how long to extend the Brexit deadline after 31 October during their meeting on Friday. There was agreement on the need for an extension among ambassadors, but its length will be discussed early next week. British MPs are expected to vote on Monday on UK prime minister Boris Johnson's call for an election on 12 December.

MEPs in Strasbourg slammed human rights abuses in Egypt on Thursday in a resolution, demanding the European Union to review the European Commission's budget support operations with the authoritarian regime headed by president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. However, a proposal to include the suspension of arms exports to Egypt was removed from the final resolution.

The Belgian ministry of defence will propose to the national security council to reduce the amount of soldiers in the street from 450 to 220. According to general Johan Peeters, the head of military operations, the reason is not budgetary, but a lack of military personnel. Peeters said the army was always prepared to intervene, but five years after the Brussels attacks one cannot talk about a security crisis anymore.

Britain's main opposition party wants the EU to decide on a Brexit extension before agreeing to UK elections, but France wants to see what happens on the British vote first.

Human Rights Watch says Turkish authorities in Istanbul and Antakya have arbitrarily detained and deported dozens of Syrians to northern Syria between January and September. The NGO says they were sent to Idlib governorate, one of the most dangerous areas in Syria. "Turkish officials' claims that all Syrians returning to their country are happy to go, ring hollow in the face of evidence to the contrary," said the NGO.

One in four Germans hold antisemitic views, amid a surge in popularity by the far-right AfD party, whose leader once demanded a "180-degree U-turn" on Germany's WW2 guilt.

Northern Syria should be controlled by international forces, Germany has told Nato, but neither the US nor Germany sound willing to send troops.

The European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg on Thursday rejected a resolution demanding EU states do more on search and rescue at sea. Oxfam, an international NGO, has described the rejection as shameful. "Europe needs more and better search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean to save people's lives," said Oxfam's EU migration policy advisor advisor Raphael Shilhav, in a statement.

MEPs on Thursday adopted a resolution that urges member states to create stricter taxation rules obliging multinationals to disclose where they pay taxes. The parliament already backed this proposal in 2017. However, member states did not agree on a position, and no legislation has been adopted yet. MEPs said that Europeans have the right to know what taxes multinationals Pais in each country as transparency was essential to avoid scandals.

The Italian government said in a letter sent to the European Commission Thursday that its 2020 draft budget did not breach EU rules and that Italy wanted to revive its economy. "The projected change in the structural balance in 2020 would not constitute a significant deviation," economy minister Roberto Gualtieri said. EU commissioner for economic affairs Pierre Moscovici said Tuesday that Brussels was not likely to ask Italy for changes.