Good morning from Brussels,

Hungary is expected to host the European Political Community (EPC) summit—with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expected to attend —and an informal EU summit on 7-8 November, right after the US elections.

Already displeased with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Russia-friendly course and unilateral diplomatic outreach to China, some countries have skipped informal summits organised by the Hungarian rotating EU Presidency.

Several diplomats told Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski that member states are considering coordinating their position towards Orbán ahead of the summits. 

The two summits will occur just a few days after the 4 November US elections, in which Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are running head to head.

Orbán said this week in Strasbourg that he would open “several bottles of champagne” if his ally Trump returns to power. 

In this scenario, he said he would not wait until his inauguration but would act immediately “to manage a peace” between Ukraine and Russia, which some EU diplomats found problematic.

Mayors from Romania, Poland and France have warned against potential plans by the European Commission to centralise EU funds, telling Euractiv that they fear being punished for mistakes made by national governments.

On the economy, the European Commission defended its budget spending after EU auditors flagged ‘substantial errors increase’ in 2023.

Moreover, an internal EU Commission proposal to lump research, innovation, and strategic spending into a European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) in the 2028-2034 budget has experts excited but wary of 'prohibitive' governance needs and 'planning economy' risks.

On foreign matters, EU ambassadors bypassed Hungary and agreed on Wednesday to give Ukraine up to €35 billion as part of the bloc's share in a larger planned loan from the Group of Seven nations (G7) backed by frozen Russian central bank assets.

BERLIN

German government parties are expected to push Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday to freeze Georgia’s EU accession unless the Georgian Dream ruling party withdraws several pieces of repressive legislation. Read more.

Germany braces for recession in 2024. Germany is set to slip further into recession this year, with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announcing a slash to the government’s previous 2024 forecast and now expecting GDP to contract by 0.2% GDP this year. Read more.

EU future on the agenda as Germany’s Scholz meets Council President Costa. The European Council’s president-elect, Antonio Costa, will present his priorities for the mandate to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Thursday amid hopes that Costa will be an ally in protecting the Social Democrats’ EU agenda. Read more.

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PARIS

Berlin, Brussels ready to scrutinise Barnier’s draft budget plan. Germany and the European Commission expect strong and impactful measures to reduce France's public deficit as French Prime Minister Michel Barnier prepares to unveil his draft budget on Thursday. Read more.

STOCKHOLM | OSLO | HELSINKI 

Budget cuts threaten Sámi minority languages. Efforts to develop the Sámi language are threatened by budget cuts by the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish governments, according to the minority’s parliaments in all three Nordic countries. Read more. 

MADRID

Spain will ask the European Commission to bring forward the entry into force of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum a year earlier than planned, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Wednesday. Read more.

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ROME

Italy’s seven-year budget plan approved amid criticism. The government's medium-term structural budget plan, which aims to manage debt and build fiscal credibility, was approved by lawmakers on Wednesday despite opposition criticism of over-optimistic growth forecasts and vague financing details. Read more.

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LISBON 

Portuguese EU Commissioner's pick comes clean regarding business interests. European commissioner-designate for Portugal, Maria Luís Albuquerque, has clarified her work for fund manager Horizon and her company ownership with her husband in her declaration of interests after being questioned by MEPs. Read more.

Portuguese MPs condemn Israel’s treatment of UN’s Guterres. The Portuguese parliament on Wednesday condemned the Israeli government for declaring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a fellow Portuguese, 'persona non grata'. Read more.

PRAGUE | WARSAW

By introducing border checks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (SPD, S&D) government was led by hypocrisy and dragged the EU back to times when it was divided, Andrzej Halicki, Polish ruling PO party MEP and centre-right EPP group vice-chairman said. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian president warns of election fraud ahead of upcoming vote. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev warned police and prosecutors of widespread electoral fraud, pointing to problems in the investigations into vote-buying schemes ahead of the parliamentary elections due on 27 October. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania adds eggs and poultry meat to Ukraine import licence list. Romania has extended the list of imports from Ukraine that require a licence to enter the country, according to a government decision on Wednesday, following complaints from Romanian farmers about the dumping prices of Ukrainian products. Read more.

• EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council expected to debate fighting child sexual abuse, Schengen, asylum and migration, and more;
• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets with President of Moldova Maia Sandu, in Chisinău;
• Justice Commissioner Didier Reyn participates via videoconference in Bitkom Privacy Conference 2024; Discusses the Rule of Law report 2024 with members of the parliament;
• Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira participates as keynote speaker in the European Committee for Cohesion Alliance of Regions;
• Commission Vice-President Vĕra Jourová meets with UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Flemming, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Dace Melbārde; Speaks at #Disinfo2024 conference;

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