Euobserver.com

The European Court on Thursday annulled the European Parliament's decision to claw back some €173,000 from the then Ukip-dominated Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe in 2016. The court said the "appearances of impartiality were seriously compromised" in the parliament's decision because one of its board members publicly said there had been "fraudulent use of funds". Those statements were made before any official decision had been taken.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung on Thursday that US president Donald Trump will not impose tariffs European Union automotive goods. "Trump will ruffle a bit, but there will not be any automobile tariffs. He won't do it. You're talking to a fully-informed man," he said.

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara will "open the doors" for refugees and migrants to enter Europe unless it does more to help. The EU says it won't help Turkey create a so-called "safe zone" in north-east Syria.

There has been little substantial analysis, since the Macron veto, of why so much money and effort in the Balkans has failed to result in the political and economic transformation needed to prepare candidates for full membership.

Uncertainty surrounding this weekend's Spanish election - the fourth in four years - is rising, as polls suggest that the outcome of Sunday's vote could be as inconclusive April's election. Thousands of police are on the streets of Barcelona.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has reacted to the statement of French president Emmanuel Macron that Nato is "brain death", saying "this view does not correspond to mine", Deutsche Welle reports, adding these are "drastic words". In a press conference with Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, Merkel said that Nato is the "cornerstone of security" for Germany. Stoltenberg from his side welcomed the news that Germany will increase its military spending.

Between 700 and 750 children from different EU member states are trapped in camps in north-east Syria with parents who are suspected Islamic State fighters. Many are under the age of six, victims of war and conflict.

Migrants were transferred on Thursday from Malta to Germany, Lithuania, and Romania after they were rescued by the NGO vessel Ocean Vikings last August, the Times of Malta writes. This follows an EU-brokered agreement reached between these member states before the migrants could disembark on Malta. However, the numbers of migrants transferred and those who remain in Malta are still unknown, according to the Maltese daily.

Italy's economy minister Roberto Gualtieri said on Thursday that his country does not agree on Germany's proposal of limiting the exposure of eurozone banks to debt of a single sovereign, Reuters reported. Gualtieri believes that efforts should be focused on creating a European safe asset. The Italian minister said that the German finance minister Olaf Scholz's proposal would put European banks at a competitive disadvantage.

The European Parliament's legal affairs committee, which is tasked with checking the commissioner-designates possible conflict of interests, will meet on 12 November to discuss the declarations of the French, Hungarian and Romanian nominees. The committee has received the declarations from the French and Hungarian candidates, and is expecting the Romanian nominees' documents by the end of Friday.

French police have removed 1,600 migrants from two camps in northern Paris on Thursday. It was one of the biggest operations in years, a day after the French government announced measures to curb migration. Around 600 police officers escorted migrants to coaches heading to reception centres in the Paris area. The new policy is the latest effort to "take back control of our migration policy", prime minister Edouard Philippe said.

French president Emmanuel Macron said he believed Nato was undergoing "brain death", criticising the lack of coordination between Europe and the US, and Turkey's unilateral action in Syria in an interview on Thursday. "Europe has the capacity to defend itself," he said, questioning the military alliance's future. Macron said it was crucial to seek a rapprochement with Moscow, and praised Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who is close to the Kremlin.

Manchego cheese, Panjin rice and Polish vodka will all be protected under a new EU-China agreeement. But the two trading giants continue to struggle over other trade-related deals.

Donations by Russian businessmen to the British Conservative party surged from £350,000 (€407,000) in the previous year to £489,850 between November 2018 and October 2019, according to an investigation by OpenDemocracy, a UK news website. There was nothing illegal about it because the Russian-origin tycoons were all naturalised British citizens, the Tory party said. The news comes amid concern about Russian meddling in European and US elections.

Serbia could face US sanctions over purchases of Russian jet fighters, attack helicopters, and anti-aircraft missiles produced by firms on an American blacklist. The missiles would be delivered "in the next few months", Russian news agency Tass said Wednesday. A US diplomat, Thomas Zarzecki, who handles sanctions, is due in Belgrade Friday. A US special envoy, Matthew Palmer, said earlier this week Serbia could "run the risk of being sanctioned".

Three minor UK opposition parties - the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, and Greens - have started their campaigns for the 12 December election, as the two biggest parties, Labour and Conservative, faced problems. Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson stepped down after numerous clashes with his party leader. A Conservative minister, Alun Cairn, also resigned over an investigation into rape allegations, as Tory leader Boris Johnson formally launched his campaign.

The new Brussels minister for mobility, Elke Van den Brandt (Greens), said Brussels will become a zone where cars can drive a maximum of 30km per hour from 2021, Le Soir reports. The speed limit will be imposed in the entire Brussels region, with an exception for the major axial roads, where 50km speed limit will apply. The police will also enforce the speed limits more than currently.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is expected to discuss American troop deployments in Germany and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline when he visits Berlin on Thursday for a memorial to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The US has about 35,000 soldiers in Germany, but has threatened to reduce numbers unless Germany spends more on defence. It has also threatened sanctions against the Russian pipeline on strategic grounds.

Maciej Popowski, the deputy director-general for EU enlargement policy, said the EU wants to pay Turkey to boost its coast guard, the New York Times writes. "We have prepared a set of measures amounting to some €50m," he said. Adding that a part of the money would help "improve the capacities of the Turkish coast guard to perform search-and-rescue operations."

France's prime minister Edouard Philippe announced the country will impose quotas on migrant workers from outside the EU. "Taking back control of our migration policy means fighting back against abuses of the right of asylum, against irregular migration. Our country will therefore play its part so that Europe rebuilds," he said. Without challenging the EU's asylum policy, he also wants to cut access to medical care for illegal immigrants.