Euobserver.com

British prime minister Boris Johnson has urged the EU to "fix" or "ditch" the post-Brexit customs arrangements for Northern Ireland in a BBC interview. He blamed fuel and food delivery problems in Britain on the pandemic, instead of Brexit, speaking to The Times. "Christmas will be considerably better than last Christmas. It will be considerably jollier and more festive," he said. He also boasted of beating the EU on vaccination-rates.

EU climate-change commissioner Frans Timmermans has told Reuters he planned to visit Russia to discuss CO2 emissions-cuts ahead of a global environmental summit, the COP26 in the UK on 31 October. "When you talk to them [the Russians] they always have conditions and questions but they want to be part of the success of this," he said, adding: "They have a lot to lose ... decarbonising their economy is challenging."

The EU is considering a new military training mission in Ukraine amid ongoing lethal hostilities with Russia in the east of the country. It would "underscore the visibility and commitment to [Ukraine]," an internal paper from the EU foreign service seen by Welt am Sonntag said. It would also "be an expression of solidarity with Ukraine in view of the ongoing military activities of Russia on the borders with Ukraine".

Algeria has banned French planes from flying over its territory to supply France's military forces in the Sahel and recalled its ambassador from Paris in protest at comments by French president Emmanuel Macron and recent French visa restrictions for Algerian nationals. Macron had reportedly told relatives of combatants in Algeria's war of independence it was led by a "political-military system" that had "totally rewritten" its history.

Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš and Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades are facing tough questions after their shady dealings came to light in the latest financial data-leak.

Europe's chief prosecutor Laura Kövesi warned that the EU budget might not be safe because Slovenia continues to delay naming delegated prosecutors to the agency. "We have to work as if our office does not exist in Slovenia," she said.

The EU 'Blue Card' seeks to lure highly-skilled immigrants to Europe. Hungary attracted only six in 2019 - but still opposes reforms to make it easier, citing labour protection rules.

EU leaders will meet in Slovenia, while MEPs gather in Strasbourg, as the EU struggles with how to deal with the Western Balkans, and what to do about the pandemic recovery plans of Hungary and Poland.

The weekly trend now puts Romania ahead of all other EU member states - and sixth worldwide. On 28 September Romania registered another first: the highest number of daily new Covid cases since the pandemic began over 18 months ago.

The 29 September historic high of $1,000 per thousand cubic metres for natural gas is not likely to be the final one this year, as European economies are still in desperate need to fill their storage facilities before winter.

Poland's constitutional tribunal delayed a verdict on the primacy of EU versus Polish law for a fourth time on Thursday. The threat of an anti-EU verdict was being used as "an element of pressure on the European Commission, on EU partners" to make them pay-out post-pandemic recovery funds, opposition MP Jan Grabiec told Reuters. The pandemic funds are being held up due to EU concerns on Poland's democratic backsliding.

Four Dutch political parties, including caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD Party, have agreed to hold talks on forming a new coalition government, in a breakthrough more than six months after a national election, Reuters reports. The four parties are the same as had formed Rutte's previous government, even though it had been seen as impossible for them to continue together after the 17 March vote.

The head of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, resigned Thursday in a row on cuts in staff and government funding, amid Slovenian prime minister Janez Janša's wider attack on independent press. Janša has called the STA a "national disgrace" and described some women journalists as "prostitutes". "We said that the situation was serious, today we can say that it is alarming," the Slovenian Journalists' Association said.

Polish officers appear to have forced a group of 32 Afghan asylum seekers across the border from Poland to Belarus on 19 August in what was an "unlawful pushback", according to satellite images and other data studied by Amnesty International. The group, which includes a 15-year old girl, has been stuck in no-man's land "without food, clean water, shelter and medicine" ever since. Four other migrants recently died of hypothermia.

Kosovo and Serbia, with EU and US support, have ended a potentially explosive dispute on car number-plates.

Portuguese football star Christiano Ronaldo became caught up in Britain's media coverage of Brexit-linked fuel shortages when his driver waited for seven hours to fill up his €250,000 Bentley at one station before driving off empty-handed, The Sun reported. Pro-Brexit politician Nigel Farage also complained Thursday: "I went to seven petrol stations this morning and there was no fuel at any of them. Was then hit by a van".

Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena informed the Italian justice system on Thursday that the European arrest warrant against MEP Carles Puigdemont is still in force, asking for the "immediate extradition" of the former regional leader accused of "sedition", according to El País. Italian police arrested the Catalan independence ex-leader last week after his European Parliament immunity was stripped in March this year. He was released from custody shortly after.

Poland has joined a growing group of countries urging the EU to take action to curb surging energy prices, Reuters reported. Spain, Italy, and Greece have already announced measures to cut consumer bills, and the EU Commission is working on a toolbox to help EU countries avoiding breaking the bloc's rules. Environment ministers will debate the issue on 6 October, and EU leaders will discuss it in October.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Karel Pinxten, a Belgian former minister and former auditor at the European Court of Auditors (ECA), has abused funds of the ECA during his mandate and therefore loses two-thirds of his pension. Pinxten was alleged to have used public funds for private travel. The advocate-general said not all accusations were proven, but the facts merited the action.

The European Commission could face billions in damages for helping Morocco exploit the occupied Western Sahara, after the EU lost another court battle in Luxembourg.