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  Maltese finance minister Clyde Caruana said Malta "supports the objectives" of the reform, but said that the "proposed minimum [excise tax] rates remain well above current national levels." https://euobserver.com/247993/eu-anger-as-malta-vetoes-e13bn-euwide-tobacco-tax-overhaul/

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  Internal minutes show Frontex urging national authorities and NGOs to run sensitive data past the agency before talking to journalists, even as it insists “transparency is the rule” and refuses to release basic figures on who actually got paid. https://euobserver.com/246767/thousands-deported-with-frontex-help-never-see-promised-eu-reintegration-money/

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  1,800 people hold Belgian visas for family reunifications or university studies, yet remain stuck in Gaza. And while EU officials and Belgian authorities pass accountability back and forth, devastating floods have displaced even more already displaced people - and a handful of MEPs stand up for the Palestinians that will have to suffer another winter outdoors. https://euobserver.com/247914/meps-demand-belgium-evacuate-visa-holders-from-gaza-as-winter-flooding-makes-life-catastrophic/

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  Every one of the 70-plus warnings sent to airlines, newsrooms and other targets in Europe last week was a hoax. But the harm was real: planes diverted, buildings evacuated, plans disrupted, costs incurred, public confidence eroded, writes Edward Lucas. https://euobserver.com/247845/fake-bomb-warnings-are-hitting-european-aviation-but-the-bigger-threat-came-from-jared-kushner/

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  Member states agreed a one-year delay to the EU’s methane rules, with a built-in option to delay again next year. https://euobserver.com/247446/eu-states-back-one-year-methane-delay-but-leave-door-open-for-more/

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  Ukrainian commander Andriy Biletsky is gambling on mass robot assaults to spare his soldiers’ lives, as Russian troops rush to prove on camera that they can still swat the machines from the sky and fields around Lyman. https://euobserver.com/247493/russians-repel-attack-by-ukrainian-ground-robots-armed-with-rpgs-in-futuristic-assault-ukraine-battlefield-update-day-1716/

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  MEPs scolded the EU Commission for failing to propose legislation on banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements. https://euobserver.com/247198/bernd-lange-slams-eu-commission-for-hiding-behind-voting-rules-on-banning-israeli-settlement-imports/

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  Donald Tusk has a legal duty to rebuild Poland’s captured Constitutional Tribunal. But the government’s handling of the latest confrontation and its own appointments risks turning a victory for the rule of law into a political defeat, writes Alberto Alemanno. https://euobserver.com/246515/its-not-a-coup-tusk-is-right-to-reclaim-polands-constitutional-tribunal-but-wrong-in-how-he-does-it/

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  The European Commission has unveiled its plan to help Europe adapt to climate change. But as extreme heat and climate disasters become the norm, the plan offers very few binding commitments. https://euobserver.com/245360/listen-is-the-european-commissions-climate-resilience-plan-enough/

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  Opinion polling from the Pew Research Center found that 69 percent of the French population is dissatisfied with democracy, Italy 62 percent, Poland 47 percent and Spain 68 percent. All are facing upcoming elections. https://euobserver.com/245132/europes-centre-parties-are-collapsing-and-for-the-first-time-the-far-right-are-collaborating-rather-than-fighting/

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  The mere threat of losing control of one maritime strait turned China into a clean tech powerhouse, while Europe, hit by two real energy shocks in a few years, is wasting time watering down its green rules. https://euobserver.com/245049/one-supply-scare-pushed-china-into-renewables-two-real-crises-still-havent-woken-europe-up/

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  EUobserver revealed last week that a director in the Belgian intelligence service (VSSE), had exchanged WhatsApp messages with ex-EU commissioner Didier Reynders, which may have been part of a criminal conspiracy to block VSSE reports into Reynders alleged wrongdoing. https://euobserver.com/244962/ex-eu-commissioner-reynders-faces-new-belgian-and-polish-scrutiny-after-euobserver-revelations/

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  Vučić acknowledged defeat shortly after 9.30PM on Sunday, when exit polls put his SNS party on 105 seats in parliament, behind the reformist Student List movement, led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, on 135 to 140. https://euobserver.com/244833/peaceful-demise-of-vucic-in-serbia-stands-in-contrast-to-second-weekend-of-riots-in-french-cities/

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  It’s comforting to imagine an Israeli government formed by anyone left of Benjamin Netanyahu will steer instinctively towards international expectations. But a more centrist Israeli government, like any elected government anywhere, will  operate within the political space created by the policy  priorities and the empathetic capacity of its voters. There isn’t much room for Palestinians. https://euobserver.com/244572/israels-election-may-disappoint-everyone-and-brussels-andwashington-face-a-hard...

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  Starshield, the defense version of Starlink, seems to remain slow despite US assurances that it was fully back. And journalists from Russia reveal what is being discussed by Kremlin and US officials as they seek a deal on Ukraine. https://euobserver.com/244704/moscow-elites-pleased-with-us-envoy-witkoff-and-far-from-agreeing-to-peace-ukraine-battlefield-update-day-1702/

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  The messages, seen by EUobserver and published here in full, now form evidence in a Belgian police investigation into Reynders on money-laundering charges, which paints them in a potentially criminal light. https://euobserver.com/243287/exclusive-leaked-whatsapps-between-ex-eu-commissioner-reynders-and-senior-belgian-spy-reveal-attempts-to-bury-allegations-of-his-possible-russia-ties/

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  The EU's border force Frontex is getting overhauled next Tuesday by a European Commission determined to give the Warsaw-based agency a larger role in deportations, more resources, and more agility to deploy. https://euobserver.com/244422/a-bigger-eu-border-force-frontex-is-set-to-be-unveiled-with-emphasis-on-deportations/

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  As the EU enters an unprecedented electoral supercycle, the question is whether it can defend its integrity as the forces challenging it gain influence over its institutions. https://euobserver.com/243071/can-the-eu-survive-with-far-right-leaders-running-major-member-states-the-answer-is-worrying/

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  Millions of euros of EU funds are being pumped into shoring-up border surveillance while legally-required national human-rights monitors struggle with funding. Some EU states still don't have any monitors - despite a June deadline. https://euobserver.com/242885/eu-pours-millions-into-border-drones-while-rights-monitors-go-unfunded/

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  Billions in EU research cash are already flowing to Israeli firms linked to drones, AI targeting and surveillance, raising questions over whether Europe is effectively bankrolling technologies used against Palestinian civilians. https://euobserver.com/242638/eu-risks-funding-israeli-firms-which-help-develop-naza-type-violent-tech/

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  Some 23 percent of Spain’s working population were immigrants, who were “paying taxes and [contributing to] pensions for everyone," said the MEP, ahead of a snap election dominated by its housing crisis and the Ceuta migrant crisis. https://euobserver.com/242337/interview-spanish-socialist-mep-sees-no-other-leader-than-sanchez-as-housing-and-immigration-dominate-snap-election/

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  The EU's picture of rule-of-law improvements is rosy, but civil liberties groups were not fooled. A new analysis reveals the commission's recommendations to have been adopted 4 times out of 100, while most remain ignored. https://euobserver.com/242107/eus-2026-ruleoflaw-report-doesnt-trigger-real-action-says-human-rights-watchdog/

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  The UK's new PM is hard not to like. However, calls to drill in an untapped oil and gas field, alongside an unrealistic budget, could turn the tide against him all too quickly. https://euobserver.com/230830/burnhams-first-10-days-in-no-10-popular-tax-breaks-but-north-sea-oil-gambit-risks-backlash/

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  Tough rhetoric aside, the EU cannot threaten China with much if it wants to avoid a tit-for-tat trade war. But a unified position would help. https://euobserver.com/241842/eu-trade-chief-sefcovic-faces-the-reality-of-brussels-weak-trade-hand/

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  As new evidence emerges of Moroccan spying on Sahrawi activists, including in Europe, European governments continue to deepen their security ties with Rabat without seriously questioning how those capabilities are being used. https://euobserver.com/241454/moroccos-surveillance-state-does-not-stop-at-western-sahara-and-europe-can-no-longer-pretend-not-to-know/

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  Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network. EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms. Find the full transcript below:  France has been seeing growing protests by high school and university students in recent weeks. The movement is […] https://euobserver.com/241671/listen-are-student-protests-in-france-actually-being-fuelled-by-melenchons-pa...

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  US authorities arrested men who sold a forensic software to government bodies across Europe, hid the tool's true owners and concealed its Russian development. https://euobserver.com/241481/why-oxygen-forensics-us-tech-ceo-selling-software-to-europe-agencies-was-arrested/

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  If Brussels accepts this vague hunt for “Muslim Brotherhood networks”, the same logic could later be turned against almost any vocal minority in Europe. https://euobserver.com/241087/centre-rights-muslim-brotherhood-witch-hunt-in-eu-parliament-risks-criminalising-everyday-activism/

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  Norwegian activist Tommy Olsen says he is facing enormous personal and financial costs over Greek allegations that he belongs to a criminal organisation, in a trial that starts on Tuesday in Rhodes. https://euobserver.com/241141/they-want-to-shut-me-up-norwegian-activist-fights-20year-greek-prison-threat-over-asylum-aid/

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  Nuclear sabre-rattling only underlines the fragility of Russia’s grip on its trophy territory. https://euobserver.com/240976/russia-is-losing-its-grip-on-kaliningrad-despite-using-the-exclave-for-anti-nato-scare-stories/