Good morning from Brussels, 

The written answers of EU commissioner-designates before their hearings early next month in the European Parliament show that Europe is adopting an inward-looking approach, aiming to fix problems at home first to address global unpredictability over the next five years. 

This week, two summits reflect the complexity of the upcoming years: Russia hosts the BRICS summit - the largest to date – and aims to question the world order. On the other hand, the IMF and the World Bank – the symbols of the West's economic hegemony in the world – gather in Washington.

If you add November’s US elections to the mix, the equation for Europe’s position in the new world becomes even trickier. 

Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič said his goal is to “defend EU interests” in trade relations with the US and China. In addition, Lithuania’s Valdis Dombrovskis vowed to simplify EU business regulations to facilitate investments.

Meanwhile, the EU's next top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, aims to safeguard the EU’s geopolitical and economic security against systemic rivals such as China. 

At home, there is a clear signal to speed up reforms to increase the EU's competitiveness, which features 370 times in the EU commissioners' answers. This is why both Piotr Serafin and Raffaele Fitto backed a Recovery Fund-style linking of the disbursement of EU funds to reforms.

Spain’s Teresa Ribera wants to preserve the EU’s manufacturing capabilities and ensure that the EU remains a place for battery electric vehicle production.

In the tech field, Finland’s Henna Virkkunen said security challenges by third-country cloud providers push for “sovereign cloud solutions” to allow the EU to become independent from Big Tech.

The European Parliament disagreed on how the European Union's 2025 budget should be spent due to a disagreement among mainstream groups about amendments from far-right parties on Wednesday.

On migration, commissioner-designate for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner has avoided the current politically charged debates on the EU's future migration policy, including ‘return hubs’ and transparency on migration deals with third countries.

On energy, Euractiv’s Nikolaus Kurmayer interviewed Austrian energy minister Leonore Gewessler about the EU’s pro-renewables group, which stands against nuclear power.

Last but not least, the EU Commission and member states rejected Hungary’s ban on cultivated meat in agrifood.

PARIS

Emmanuel Macron tries international credibility stunt with Lebanon conference. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to organise an International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s Population and Sovereignty in Paris on Thursday (24 October) to address the humanitarian crisis and push for a ceasefire in Lebanon while Israeli strikes on the country continue. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

The Swedish government has disowned its coalition partner, the hard-right Swedish Democrats, after their member and Vice-President of the conservative ECR group, Charlie Weimers, called on Tuesday for the killing of an international criminal. Read more.

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OSLO

Norwegian government to set 15-year age limit for using social media. The Norwegian government wants to introduce a 15-year minimum age threshold for using social media to protect children from harmful content and "big tech giants". Read more. 

ROME

Italian commissioner-designate Raffaele Fitto has sidestepped references to his political party while outlining his commitment to introducing conditionalities in the distribution of cohesion funds if confirmed as the Commission's next vice-president for cohesion and reforms. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish far-left increases pressure on Sánchez to implement ‘full arms embargo’ on Israel. The Spanish far-left is stepping up its pressure on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for Madrid to suspend all arms deals with Israel that are currently in force and urgently implement a ‘full arms embargo’ on Tel Aviv. Read more.

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LISBON | MADRID

Portugal and Spain agree on minimum monthly water flow for River Guardiana. The Guadiana will now have a minimum monthly flow following an agreement on Wednesday between the Portuguese and Spanish governments, which also formalised their commitment to a daily flow in the Tagus. Read more.

WARSAW

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dispelled the reports that he is going to run in next year's presidential election, stating he is not suited for the role and would be unlikely to win. Read more.

BRATISLAVA 

Hungarian expert: EU intervention may keep Fico's rule on a moderate path. Hungary is teetering on the brink of full-blown autocracy, while Slovakia is experiencing a populist turn, though it remains doubtful that a single government can inflict the kind of institutional damage seen in Hungary, said Péter Krekó, director of the Political Capital Institute in Budapest, told Euractiv Slovakia. Read more.

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PRAGUE | VIENNA

Czech Railways opposes Commission fine over alleged cartel. Czech Railways, the major state-owned railway operator in Czechia, strongly opposes the European Commission's decision to fine the company €31.9 million for allegedly forming a cartel with Austria's ÖBB.  Read more.

Von der Leyen starts Balkans tour, says enlargement ‘top priority’. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday (23 October) pledged that membership expansion would be high on the Brussels agenda, as she arrived in Albania at the start of a tour of six Balkan nations hoping to join the bloc. Read more.

• EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets with Albanian President Bajram Begaj, in Tirana; Holds meetings with Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, in Skopje;
• Parliament President Roberta Metsola meets with Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, in Rome;
• High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell participates in International Conference in Support of Lebanon's People and Sovereignty;
• Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit participates in Enlargement high level forum, in Brussels;
• Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson participates in the G20 Anti-Corruption ministerial meeting, in Natal, Brazil; Meets with Controller General of the Union of Brazil Vinícius Marques de Carvalho;
• Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira delivers keynote speech at “The importance of water resources management” conference, in Faro, Portugal;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor-Braçe]