Good morning from Brussels,

**NOTE: We apologise for the delayed newsletter today due to technical issues.

Austria will hold elections this Sunday, and polls suggest that the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) is expected to rank first, although the distance from the centre-right People’s Party (EPP) has been shrinking in the last couple of weeks.

However, FPÖ—affiliated with Viktor Orbán’s Patriots for Europe group—will have to find partners. 

The only possibility of reaching power is to form a coalition with the centre-right. It already did in three key states and twice at the federal level, although the centre-right People’s Party had alternatives.

In this case, Austria’s far-right will get a lot and add another brick in the wall of Europe’s far-right normalisation. 

Our politics reporter, Nicoletta Ionta, explores the different scenarios in Austria’s political landscape and their probability.

In other EU countries, certain trends are noticeable.

In Sweden, the hard-right Sweden Democrats (ECR) came second in the 2022 elections, but centre-right parties formed a coalition excluding them. In exchange, the coalition agreed to apply its migration policy.

In Finland, the 2023 elections put a coalition dominated by the Coalition party (Kok, EPP) and the Finns party (ECR) to power. The Finns got seven ministerial portfolios - the EPP Coalition party got eight as a comparison - that include the influential ministries of Finances, Economic Affairs, Justice and Interior Affairs. 

In the Netherlands, after tough talks, a cabinet was formed around independent politician Dick Schoof composed of the VVP (EPP), the PVV (PfE), the NSC (EPP) and the BBB (EPP). The far-right PVV got, among others, the Ministries of Asylum and Migration, Trade and Economic Affairs.

In Italy, migration is led by Matteo Piantedosi, far-right Salvini’s former chief of staff in 2018.

In France, the rise of Marine Le Pen resulted in handing over migration to conservative Bruno Retaillaud (EPP), known for his tough migration stance.

Last but not least, in Germany, far-right AfD is on the rise, scoring high in recent regional elections and already affecting the agenda at the federal level. 

Austria’s centre-right intentions are still unknown. But if the far right becomes a senior coalition partner, it will be granted the chance to shape the agenda altogether.

EU ministers agreed on Thursday with Mario Draghi’s “valid” diagnosis of Europe’s economy problems but disagreed over how to finance fixing them through investments.

In energy, nuclear defenders are split on whether to call for a dedicated EU regulation for nuclear energy, as proposed by former Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton. 

On the foreign policy front, former US president Donald Trump will likely renew its controversial pitch of a possible swift peace deal with Russia when he meets Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

STOCKHOLM

Swedish PM wants to start building nuclear powerplants in the next two years. The construction of new nuclear power plants in Sweden will begin before the next general elections, scheduled for 2026, Swedish Prime minister Ulf Kristersson (Moderates, EPP) announced on Thursday.

"We are fully committed. If we are to achieve electrification, we must succeed in doubling electricity production, and nuclear power is an indispensable part of this", he said in an interview for dagens Nyheter on Thursday.

LONDON

British Prime Minister Starmer to visit Brussels next week. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels next week as part of efforts to “reset” Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Read more.

ROME

Italy has secured the support of nine EU countries for Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso’s proposal to bring forward the revision of EU car emissions legislation from 2026 to 2025, with the minister saying there are now enough EU member states ready to back Italy’s call. Read more.

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MADRID

CJEU upholds European Parliament’s decision to deny Catalan separatist leaders’ MEP seats. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday (26 September) ruled in favour of the former European Parliament president to deny former Catalan separatist leaders Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín their MEP seats in Strasbourg in 2019. Read more. 

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LISBON

Portugal approves new system to expulse irregular migrants. Portugal will introduce a new system for the return and expulsion of migrants staying in the country without authorisation and create the National Foreigners and Borders Unit within the police, the government announced on Thursday. Read more.

WARSAW

The Polish-Belarusian border has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, and the situation is becoming more serious, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (PSL, EPP) said on Thursday. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungary’s chief prosecutor seeks to strip Orbán’s rival from MEP immunity. Hungary’s chief prosecutor has asked the president of the European Parliament to suspend the parliamentary immunity of Prime Minister Orbán’s main political rival, MEP Péter Magyar, the prosecutor’s office said on Thursday. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Internal rift in Fico’s coalition as parties air grievances in public. The mounting rift between Slovakia’s ruling parties, SNS and Hlas-SD (NI), shows no signs of abating as parties air their differences in the media, and Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD/NI) refuses to intervene publicly. Read more.

SOFIA

Parliamentary group leaders in Bulgaria have welcomed the EU’s decision to open accession talks with Albania and to block North Macedonia until it includes the Bulgarian minority in its constitution. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian PM rejects need to legally protect same-sex couples. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has questioned the need to introduce civil partnerships, saying that LGBTQ citizens already enjoy equal rights despite the Strasbourg-based human rights court condemning Romania for failing to protect same-sex couples. Read more.

• EU: High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell co-chairs 14th Global Counterterrorism Forum Ministerial Plenary meeting; Addresses the Council on Foreign Relations on “Navigating Europe’s Challenges, in New York, United States;

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