Euobserver.com

The future commissioner-designate for an "economy that works for people", Valdis Dombrovskis, told MEPs on Tuesday during his hearing that Europe needs a "common approach on crypto-assets such as Libra". The Latvian nominee intends to propose new legislation, since cryptocurrencies like Facebook's Libra may have "systemic effects on financial stability". However, Dombrovskis previously rejected regulation of digital currencies in his five years as commissioner for financial services.

The US ambassador to the EU, Peter Sondland, was asked by the US House of Representatives to testify in the impeachment investigation into president Donald Trump. However, the State Department has forbidden him to do so. Sondland would have played a role in pushing Ukraine to investigate the business affairs of the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the country. Democratic politicians accuse Trump of obstructing justice.

The plenary debate in the Flemish parliament on the budget of the new government had to be stopped because of a bomb warning on Tuesday. Everyone had to evacuate the building immediately. According to Martine Goossens, secretary-general of the Flemish parliament, someone called in English to report a bomb. The services think it might be connected to the 40th anniversary of the Kurdish Institute, planned in the building at 4PM.

French president Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that France must develop a "society of vigilance" where everyone looks out for signs of Islamic extremist networks' influence. Speaking at site of the victims of the knife attack at the headquarters of the Paris police, Macron said that "the administrative services, and all the combined services of the state alone, will not be able to overcome [this issue]".

Poland's pick for EU agriculture commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski, won MEPs' approval after a second mini-hearing in Brussels on Tuesday.

Poland's pick for EU agriculture commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski, won MEPs' approval after a second mini-hearing in Brussels on Tuesday. He got approval from "all" the political groups, Polish MEPs from his own party said. The nominee gave more detailed answers on issues such as US tariffs and industrialised farming and he spoke in his native language, instead of in halting English as in his first hearing last week.

EU Council president Donald Tusk on Tuesday tweeted directly to British prime minister Boris Johnson that what is at stake in the Brexit talks is "not winning some stupid blame game", but the future of Europe and the UK, including security. "You don't want a deal, you don't want an extension, you don't want to revoke, quo vadis?," Tusk wrote. The Latin phrase means 'where are you going?'.

Environment ministers from France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, and Luxembourg have signed a letter calling on incoming EU climate commissioner, Frans Timmermans, to increase the EU's emissions-cut target from 40 percent to 55 percent by 2030, Reuters writes. The text urges the EU to take climate action "to underpin the European Green Deal, to drive the in-depth transformation and bold measures needed across all sectors".

The EU should continue to expand in the Western Balkans and maintain sanctions on Russia, its next foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.

The current Czech commissioner for justice, Vera Jourova, was approved for the next commission, as she promised to defend democracy from online threats, and to present ideas about reforming future European elections by 2020.

A report of the so-called "wise men", led by Thomas Wieser, a former EU official, proposes creating a "European Climate and Sustainable Development Bank" in order to channel all EU aid to Africa, like China's 'Belt and Road' initiative, Bloomberg writes. The report, that will be discussed by EU's finance ministers, says huge investments in Africa are needed because of its explosive demographics and future "disorderly migratory pressures".

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a British think tank, a no-deal Brexit would push the UK to its highest debt-level since the 1960s. The think tank said to the BBC "the government is now adrift without any effective fiscal anchor" and that it would be forced to borrow up to $100bn (€112bn). This would create a debt level of 90 percent if the UK's national income.

The European Council has adopted new rules to protect whistle-blowers by 2021, which could save "€5.8 to €9.6bn each year for the EU as a whole". "The new rules will require the creation of safe channels for reporting both within an organisation - private or public - and to public authorities. It will also provide a high level of protection to whistle-blowers against retaliation" it added.

The European Commission has launched a call for tenders to "create the first core service of a digital platform to help fight disinformation in Europe", it said in a statement. The aim is to create a European Digital Media Observatory serving as "a hub for fact-checkers, academics and researchers to collaborate with each other and actively link with media organisations and media literacy experts, and provide support to policy makers".

German businesses have incurred losses worth €3.5bn in bilateral trade between Germany and the UK because of negative effects of Brexit in the first half of this year alone, according to the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA). The president of the BGA warned that the real cost will be much higher and that a no-deal Brexit would have "catastrophic consequences" for German exporters.

In these commissioner hearings politics and the law are very close to one another. The temptation to use legal rules and procedures for political ends is real and present.

The Dutch coalition government on Monday lost its majority in the parliament, after a member of prime minister Mark Rutte's VVD party said he wanted to keep his seat as an independent. Last month, MP Wybren van Haga was dismissed for maintaining ties with the company he founded in 2018, reported Reuters. With only 75 seats, Rutte's four-party coalition will need the support of the opposition to pass legislation.

Environmental activists of the group 'Extinction Rebellion' and NGOs on Monday demanded government action in support of the climate emergency, and a commitment to reducing the impact of climate change.

Anti-Brexit campaigners on Monday lost a court case in Scotland aimed at preventing the UK government crashing out of the EU with no deal. Activists had wanted the Scottish court to rule that Boris Johnson must commit to asking Brussels for an extension of the 31 October Brexit deadline, if no deal is found this month. Judges in Edinburgh accepted the government's assurances they would ask for an extension.

Belgium has just 30 or so counter-intelligence officers to protect the EU and Nato from Russia and other hostile states - and both of its chief spy-catchers face allegations of misconduct.