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Ukraine-Europe: their fate is ours too

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europeans are facing a war against their values and must defend themselves even more vigorously, writes Jean-Dominique Giuliani... Read more

Elections :

Right and Left running neck and neck before the elections in Denmark

According to the latest opinion poll, the Social Democratic Party of outgoing Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is expected to come out ahead in the early parliamentary elections on 1 November with 27.4% of the vote, while the left-wing parties as a whole are forecast to win 47.8%. The right-wing bloc is expected to get 44.6% of the vote... Read more

Foundation :

Energy Crisis, European Measures

In response to rising energy prices, Member States and the European Union have taken action and developed plans to reduce consumption. On 11 October, Belgium extended support measures for households until March and Poland set a ceiling on electricity prices for SMEs. Ireland's 2023 budget includes €1.3 billion in support for households and aid for businesses. The Foundation offers you a map to help you understand everything. It is regularly completed, updated and refreshed... Read more

Ukraine/Russia :

UN General Assembly Resolution

The UN General Assembly adopted on 12 October by 143 votes to 5 with 35 abstentions a resolution on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, condemning Russia for holding "so-called illegal referendums" within Ukrainian territory, as well as for its attempt to illegally annex the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, which have no validity under international law. The country is being called upon to reverse these decisions immediately... Read more

G7 Meeting

The G7 leaders met by video conference on 11 October with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They again condemned the Russian attacks on Ukrainian soil. They called on Russia to end the war. They affirmed their support for Ukraine's integration into international institutions to guarantee its security and await the conclusions of the International Conference of Experts on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernisation of Ukraine to be held on 25 October... Read more

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rejects the Russian referendums

The pseudo-referendums organised by Russia in Ukraine were described as an "affront to international law" and deemed "null and void, without legal or political effect" by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 13 October, which unanimously adopted a resolution to set up a "comprehensive system" to sanction Russia, including a special tribunal to judge its crimes. The elected representatives also called on member states to declare the Russian regime "terrorist"... Read more

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Increased support by NATO

Meeting on 12-13 October, NATO Defence Ministers announced increased support for Ukraine's defence and a strengthening of their deterrence. NATO plans to provide Ukraine with hundreds of jammers and member countries will increase their stockpiles of ammunition specifically for Ukraine. In addition, 14 NATO countries and Finland have built a European missile shield project called "European Sky Shield"... Read more

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Speech

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave three speeches on 11, 12 and 13 October: the first at the G7 summit; the second with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; and the third before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe... Read more

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New measures in support of Ukrainian refugees

On 12 October, the Council adopted legislative measures facilitating the use of cohesion policy funds to support the increasing reception of Ukrainian refugees by Member States. These measures will strengthen CARE financial assistance and mobilise an additional €3.5 billion in pre-financing. On 10 October, the Commission announced the introduction of solidarity measures to facilitate access to employment for Ukrainians benefiting from temporary protection, including the creation of a new online job search tool and registration in the "EU Talent Pool pilot"... Read more

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Commission :

Fishing opportunities in 2023 in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

On 13 October, the Commission published its proposals for fishing opportunities in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, which aim to ensure sustainable management of fish stocks and control their distribution. The Council will discuss the Commission's proposal on 12 and 13 December... Read more

Reports on enlargement and candidate status for Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Commission adopted its Enlargement 2022 package on 11 October, which analyses the progress of each of the Western Balkan countries and Turkey in their application process to join the European Union. It also recommends that the Council grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina... Read more

Council :

Meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers

Meeting on 13 October, the Justice Ministers discussed the deployment of a common judicial response against Russia. In particular, they discussed the issue of prosecuting and investigating war crimes. They also discussed the state of play of the draft directive on environmental crime. On 14 October, the Home Affairs Ministers discussed the management of external borders and approved conclusions on the external border strategy. They discussed the internal aspects of the consequences of the war in Ukraine, in particular with regard to refugees... Read more

Energy Ministers' Meeting

The energy ministers met on 12 October in Prague to define European legislative options for the purchase or possible capping of gas prices. On the subject of the European electricity market, they discussed renewable energies and nuclear power as part of the future energy mix... Read more

Eurogroup Meeting

The Finance Ministers met in Washington on 14 October on the margins of the IMF/World Bank meeting and met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They reviewed the transatlantic economic outlook and risks... Read more

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Final adoption of the directive on gender equality

On 17 October, the Council gave its final approval to the directive which aims to ensure better representation of women in decision-making positions in listed companies. The objective is to reach a level of 40% of non-executive directorships in listed companies held by members of the under-represented sex by 2026... Read more

Agreement on the European Standardisation Regulation

On 12 October, the Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the revision of the European standardisation regulation, which notably strengthens the competences of the three EU bodies in charge of the European standards development process. The aim is to ensure that the values of the European Union are respected, particularly in strategic areas such as cybersecurity and hydrogen... Read more

Agreement on airport slots

On 12 October, Member States agreed on a Council Regulation that will allow air carriers to temporarily derogate from the rules on the use of slots at EU airports. The aim is to support the current recovery in aviation activity, which suffered a sharp decline due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine... Read more

New Secretary General

Franco-Swiss Thérèse Blanchet was appointed Secretary General of the Council on 13 October for a five-year term. Currently Director General of the Council's Legal Service, she will be responsible for advising the Council and the European Council on the progress of their work... Read more

Meeting of Ministers responsible for employment and social affairs

At an informal meeting on 13-14 October in Prague, the ministers responsible for employment and social policy discussed the integration of Ukrainian refugees into the labour market. They discussed the issues of access to health, education and social protection, as well as the question of increasing the EU's financial assistance to Member States. They took stock of the impact of rising energy prices on households and discussed a long-term plan for the situation of low and middle-income households... Read more

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Diplomacy :

Josep Borrell's speech to Ambassadors

At the annual EU Ambassadors' Conference on 10 October, High Representative Josep Borrell called on diplomats to be more responsive and more present in the public arena. He called on the EU to act against current risks such as the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, the competition between the United States and China, and reminded the Member States of the need to act in solidarity and to intensify efforts to deal with the consequences of the war unleashed by Russia... Read more

Competition and Data Protection Policy

Cooperation to promote fair competition in the digital sector was discussed at the EU-US Technology Competition Policy meeting on 13 October. On 7 October, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing and clarifying the conditions for the transfer of personal data between the EU and the US. The European Commission will now prepare a draft decision and then launch its adoption procedure... Read more

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Agreement on Air Transport with ASEAN

The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached an air transport agreement on 17 October, after more than six years of negotiations. The agreement provides for an extension of the catalogue of destinations and more frequent flights for airlines from both regions. In addition, the agreement covers safety and air traffic management and includes environmental measures such as the establishment of a carbon offset and reduction scheme for international aviation... Read more

Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers

On October 17, foreign affairs ministers approved the creation of a training mission for the Ukrainian armed forces, called EUMAM Ukraine, as well as a new tranche of €500 million for assistance in terms of the supply of military equipment to Ukraine. They agreed, among other things, on the temporary deployment of 40 experts to observe the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan to help the peace process. With regard to Iran, they added 11 individuals and 4 entities to the list of persons subject to European restrictive measures, due to the current repression.. Read more

ECB :

Meeting of International Monetary and Financial Committee

At a meeting of the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee on 14 October, ECB President Christine Lagarde announced further rate hikes. She estimated that inflation will remain above the 2% target in 2023 and 2024 and that a significant slowdown in euro area GDP growth in the second half of this year and early 2023 is expected. Furthermore, she stated that the ECB will strengthen the integration of environmental objectives into fiscal policy... Read more

European Patents Office :

Study of the economic contribution of intellectual property

A report published on 11 October by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) estimates that 82 million jobs in the European Union are linked to the intellectual property sector. For example, the study estimates that 80.5% of EU imports and 80.1% of EU exports are generated by IPR-intensive industries... Read more

European Agencies :

Increase in irregular entries

228,240 irregular entries were recorded in the first nine months of 2022, the highest level since 2016, according to figures released by Frontex on 13 October. The Western Balkans route remains the most active migration route, according to the EU border and coastguard agency. In addition, more than 11 million Ukrainian nationals have entered the EU since the start of the war... Read more

Launch of the Eutelsat Hotbird13F satellite

The Eutelsat Hotbird 13F satellite was successfully launched into geostationary transfer orbit by SpaceX on 15 October aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite is one of two designed by Airbus Defence and Space... Read more

Germany :

Meetings with the Spanish and Portuguese Prime Ministers

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with the Prime Ministers of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and Portugal, António Costa, in Berlin on 14 October to discuss the situation in Ukraine, expressing their intention to continue supporting the Ukrainians. They discussed the central themes of the European Council on 20 and 21 October, including energy issues... Read more

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France :

Increase in French military presence

On 11 October, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, announced the details of the reinforcement of the French military presence on the eastern flank of Europe. Infantry fighting vehicles and a squadron of Leclerc tanks will be deployed in Romania as part of the Aigle mission, Rafale aircraft will be sent to Lithuania, and a light infantry company to Estonia... Read more

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Italy :

Election of Speakers of the two houses of Parliament

Italian senators elected Ignazio La Russa, co-founder of the far-right Fratelli d'Italia party, as the new Speaker of the upper house on 13 October. The deputies on 14 October chose Lega member Lorenzo Fontana as Speaker of the lower house... Read more

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Slovenia :

Most recent pre-presidential election polls

In the run-up to the first round of the presidential election in Slovenia on 23 October, two candidates stand out. Anže Logar of the SDS party is in the lead with 23.6% of voting intentions, ahead of lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar (20.4%)... Read more

Sweden :

New Prime Minister

The leader of the Moderate party, Ulf Kristersson, was elected Prime Minister by Parliament on 17 October by 176 votes to 173. On 14 October, the three parties in the right-wing bloc of Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals had agreed to form a government with the unprecedented support in parliament of the far-right Sweden Democrats... Read more

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Macedonia :

Cooperation agreement with Frontex

The Council gave its approval on 13 October to the signing of an agreement between North Macedonia and Frontex, the European border guard and coastguard agency, which constitutes their framework for operational cooperation in the management of migration flows. It aims to facilitate the deployment of joint operations, including in Macedonian areas under the agreement of the government. The agreement must now be approved by the Parliament... Read more

UK :

New Finance Minister

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng was dismissed by Prime Minister Liz Truss on 14 October and replaced by Jeremy Hunt. The British government has been under pressure since the announcement on 23 September of major tax cuts and measures to compensate for rising energy prices, highlighting the shortcomings and costs of the Brexit supporters' political and economic plan. On 17 October, Jeremy Hunt announced the cancellation of almost all the tax measures decided by his predecessor... Read more

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Council of Europe :

The Vaclav Havel Prize awarded to Vladimir Kara-Murza

Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza was awarded the 10th Václav Havel Prize for Human Rights on 11 October. Imprisoned in Russia since April 2022 for treason, he was involved in the creation of a committee opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine... Read more

Review of the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly

At its autumn plenary session from 10 to 14 October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted several recommendations and resolutions relating to the integration of the Western Balkans into Europe and the honouring of commitments by Turkey, Hungary and Romania. The Assembly reported on the deterioration of human rights in Northern Ireland following Brexit... Read more

IMF :

World Economic Outlook

The International Monetary Fund released its "World Economic Outlook" on 11 October, which focuses on the response to the cost-of-living crisis in the face of the widespread economic slowdown, which is proving to be sharper than expected. Global growth is expected to fall from 6% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023, hitting its lowest rate since 2001, except for the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Inflation is forecast to rise from 4.7% in 2021 to 8.8% in 2022, before falling to 6.5% in 2023 and 4.1% in 2024... Read more

Eurobarometer :

Survey of the Green Transition

On 10 October, the Commission published a Eurobarometer on fairness in the green transition, according to which 88% of Europeans agree that the transition should leave no one behind. 77% feel personally responsible to act. Half of Europeans (50%) believe that the EU is doing enough to ensure that the transition is fair... Read more

Studies/Reports :

Report on Trade Agreements

On 11 October the Commission published a report on the implementation and enforcement of free trade agreements with the EU's partner countries. The report shows that exports exceeded €1,000 billion in 2021 and that 44% of trade took place under preferential trade agreements... Read more

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Culture :

European Cultural Solidarity with Ukraine

The world of culture is mobilising for Ukraine. The association "Solidarité Ukraine-Wasquehal" from Wasquehal is organising a performance of the show "George Kaplan" on 20 October, the profits of which will be donated in full to support the Ukrainian people. On the same date, the London Chorus is offering a concert at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London for the benefit of Ukrainian refugees. On 21 October, the city of Rietberg in Germany is hosting the "Art of Peace" event, a solidarity concert by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, L. & P. Hahn. On the Polish platform Pomagam.pl, a fundraising event has been organised to provide the Ukrainian army with the necessary winter equipment and help the population cope with one of the worst winters in decades. On 27 October, the Diario de avisos foundation in Spain will award the Ukrainian civil society... Read more

Frankfurt Book Fair

The world's largest book fair takes place in Frankfurt from 19 to 23 October. The theme is "translation" in all its facets and as a prerequisite for understanding and agreement. Numerous events, lectures, readings, debates, performances and meetings are organised in the city... Read more

Niki de Saint Phalle in Toulouse

Until 5 March 2023, the Abattoirs at the Musée - Frac Occitanie in Toulouse are presenting an exhibition devoted to Niki de Saint Phalle, and in particular to the lesser-known "second part" of her career, from 1978 until her death in 2002... Read more

Photos by Carrie de Mae Weems in Barcelona

The KBr Photographic Centre of the Mapfre Foundation in Barcelona is devoting an exhibition to Carrie Mae Weems until 15 January 2023. The exhibition "A Grand Tour of the Possible" is being organised together with the Fundació Foto Colectania and the Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart (WKV) and features works that focus on the identity of the African-American community, women and the mechanisms of power... Read more

Helmut Newton in Vienna

The 100th anniversary of the birth of photographer Helmut Newton (1920-2004) is being celebrated by the Kunstforum in Vienna with a retrospective exhibition of more than 300 works by the artist until 15 January 2023. The exhibition features both iconic photographs and previously unpublished works... Read more

New German objective in Copenhagen

Until 19 February 2023, the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen is organising an exhibition on Germany in the 1920s, which highlights the "Neue Sachlichkeit" movement, the New Objectivity. Around 600 works by 90 artists illustrate the political and social upheavals of the time. This exhibition is being organised in partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris... Read more

Exhibition of the French special forces in Paris

Until 29 January 2023, the Musée de l'Armée in Paris is hosting the first-ever exhibition devoted to the French special forces. This exhibition looks at the history, functioning, equipment and evolution of the special forces, as well as their image in "popular culture". This exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Special Operations Command (COS)... Read more

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International Nature Festival in Namur

The city of Namur is hosting the 28th edition of the international nature festival until 23 October. The programme includes film screenings, photography exhibitions, conferences and meetings on the subject of nature... Read more

Student Song Festival in Krakow

From 19 to 23 October, the 58th edition of the Student Song Festival, which has been one of the country's most important festivals of artistic and politically engaged songs since 1962, will be held in Krakow... Read more

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Canterbury Festival

Until 5 November, Canterbury is hosting its annual festival to celebrate the arts with a varied and extravagant programme of music, theatre and science... Read more

Olafur Eliasson in Florence

Until 22 January 2023, Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is hosting the exhibition "Olafur Eliasson: In His Time". It places the visitor at the heart of the artist's reflection on the notion of shared experience and interaction with reality and combines new installations with historical works... Read more

Art Basel in Paris

From 20 to 23 October, Paris + by Art Basel will be held for the first time at the Grand Palais Ephémère. The contemporary art fair, with 156 exhibitors from 30 countries, is also developing a programme of sculptures and installations throughout Paris and attracting numerous off-site events... Read more

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The Letter's Editorial Team :

Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Helen Levy ;
Micol Cattana, Eléna Roux, Amandine Guérin

Editors-in-chief: Eric Maurice
Publishing Director: Pascale Joannin
N° ISSN : 2729-6482

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The Robert Schuman Foundation, created in 1991 and acknowledged by State decree in 1992, is the main French research centre on Europe. It develops research on the European Union and its policies and promotes the content of these in France, Europe and abroad. It encourages, enriches and stimulates European debate thanks to its research, publications and the organisation of conferences. The Foundation is presided over by Mr. Jean-Dominique Giuliani.