Good morning from Bratislava,

EU faces rift over Palestine aid, stance on Israel war with Hamas. Divisions among EU member states and a lack of convergence from EU institutions were on display on Monday (9 October) over plans to halt aid to Palestine in response to Saturday's attack on Israel by Hamas. Read more.

BERLIN

The success of the far-right AfD, which made impressive gains in regional elections in two German states, has raised urgent questions about how long the party can be kept out of government, as its leaders lobbied for a future right-wing coalition on Monday. Read more.

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PARIS

NGOs asked French prime minister to draw up a youth mental health strategy. UNICEF France and a dozen civil society associations sent a letter to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Tuesday, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, asking her to urgently develop an ambitious national strategy for the mental health of children and young people. Read more.

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MADRID

The Sumar party, an ally of Spanish acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the country’s future government, called out the EU’s ‘double standards’ on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Monday. Read more.

Nearly half of Spaniards want to redo elections: survey. Almost half of Spanish citizens would prefer a repeat of the general elections after noting the enormous difficulty of the country’s two main political formations, the Socialist Party and Partido Popular, to form a stable government, a fresh poll published by El Pais revealed on Monday. Read more.

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ROME

Italy expresses solidarity for Israel helps boost Lebanon’s stability. The Italian government has expressed solidarity with Israel and confirmed its plans to work with international partners, including Lebanon, pledging continued support for the country’s security to prevent the conflict from escalating. Read more.

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LISBON

Europe can only prosper if all regions prosper, says Portugal’s EU commissioner. For Europe to thrive, all regions must also thrive, Portuguese EU Commissioner Elisa Ferreira argued on Monday, emphasising the importance of cohesion policy for Europe’s regions and cities. Read more.

Air Force C-130 to pick up Portuguese nationals in Israel. The Portuguese Air Force C-130 is on its way to Tel Aviv to pick up at least 150 nationals wishing to leave Israel due to the conflict with Hamas, the Foreign Affairs Ministry affairs announced on Monday. Read more.

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VALLETTA

Commission silent over Maltese driving licence racket. The European Commission has refused to answer questions on the EU implications of the recently revealed Maltese driving licence racket, which saw high-ranking officials and ministers push those loyal to the ruling Labour Party to the front of the queue for exams or ensure they received ‘help’ to pass. Read more.

WARSAW

The first and probably only election debate in Poland, involving six parties, immediately became a bickering match between ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and opposition leader Donald Tusk. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Hamás is our common enemy, Czech FM says ahead of EU-Gulf meeting. We have to cooperate in support of Israel, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates, Greens/EFA), who plans to advocate for Israel and Ukraine support at Tuesday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers with their Gulf counterparts in Muscat, Oman, said on Monday. Read more.

PRISTINA  | BELGRADE 

The EU is running out of patience with Serbia and has drafted measures that will impact it politically, economically, and in terms of its EU accession, while more evidence emerges from the 24 September terrorist attack, including the involvement of Serbian President Aleksander Vucic’s son’s close collaborator. Read more.

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SOFIA

Three countries support construction of Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. The oil pipeline project from the Greek port of Alexandroupolis to the Bulgarian port of Burgas is on the agenda of Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania in the context of greater energy, transport and digital connectivity in Southeast Europe. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian government to invest €2.1 billion in climate neutrality. The proposed investment, which is set to be voted on by the government soon, will be put towards becoming climate-neutral by 2050. Read more.

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BELGRADE 

Serb government evacuates Serbs from Israel. The Serbian government has evacuated Serbian citizens trapped between the warring factions of Israel and Hamas after the former declared war following last week’s attack. Read more.    

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TIRANA

Albanian medical students protest ongoing controversial university policy. Medical students in Albania are protesting against recent government changes to a law aimed at stopping the mass immigration of doctors and nurses and strengthening the local healthcare system. Read more.

• EU: EU ministers of foreign affairs hold informal videoconference to discuss the situation in Israel following recent events;
• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers opening speech at Clean Transition Dialogue on Hydrogen event; Hosts Head of Government of Morocco Aziz Akhannouch;
• High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell co-chairs the EU-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Joint Council, in Muscat, Oman;
• Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas delivers opening remarks at 3rd European Defence and Security Conference; Gives keynote speech at ICMPD Vienna Migration Conference, in Austria;
• Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski hosts Minister for Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay Fernando Mattos;
• Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi hosts Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Nicu Popescu; Holds meeting with former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko;
• Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit speaks at “How to ensure decent work and job quality for essential workers” conference, organised by Eurofound and the ILO; Delivers keynote speech at “More Europe in cross-border regions” event;
• Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira hosts 7th Meeting of the Group of high level specialists on the future of Cohesion Policy;
• Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni hosts Minister of Trade of Türkiye Ömer Bolat;
• Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides hosts World Mental Health Day conference “An EU comprehensive approach that prioritises sound mental health for all”;
• Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova speaks at the Midterm review on the European Education Area event; Delivers opening speech at panel for the Future of Science and Technology event, organised by the European Research Council and the Parliament;
• Financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union Commissioner Mairead McGuinness holds meeting with representatives of the European Digital Payments Industry Alliance;
• Spain: Left-wing platform Sumar presents amnesty law proposal for those involved in the 2017 events in Catalonia;
• Romania: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on official visit;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]