EUobserver

Flávio Bolsonaro has pulled off a surprise first-round win in Brazil — and Brussels is watching closely. 🇧🇷 The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro won around 47% of the vote, ahead of president Lula on 45%. The two will now face each other in a 25 October runoff. Trump welcomed Bolsonaro’s advance, while a victory for the rightwing candidate could pull Brazil closer to Washington — with consequences for the EU’s Mercosur partnership, climate cooperation and access to critical minerals. After years of building ties with Lula, Europe could soon be dealing with a very different Brazil. Read the full story on EUobserver 👉 https://lnkd.in/e9UtDDu4 Investigative. Influential. Independent. Your EUobserver.

For UK Burnham, the growing risk of UK industry becoming collateral damage in an EU-China trade war is turning abstract talk of “better cooperation” into a stark choice between limited market fixes or a full-scale return to the EU table.

Trump pushed Europe to release its diesel reserves. Days later, the G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels — but Brussels says it didn’t cave. 🤔 Washington had warned several European countries they could face US diesel export bans if they refused to tap their emergency stocks. The EU ultimately agreed to a coordinated release through the IEA, after securing a G7 commitment to avoid energy export restrictions. But there’s a catch: the EU itself says there is currently no immediate oil supply-security problem. So is this an emergency energy measure — or political pressure paying off? Read the full story on EUobserver 👉 https://lnkd.in/e68q5Hjv Investigative. Influential. Independent. Your EUobserver.

If a woman enters politics, she may have to confront the fact that she may be one in 14 being digitally stripped by 'nudifying' technology. Such is what an EU ban is trying to stop: but whether it will be implemented in time, according to the Parliament's greens party, is far from certain.

Last elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina might prove that Russia's influence is more broadly spread than the EU's.

“Putin understands only one language — the language of strength.” EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová says Ukrainians want peace more than anything — but that peace will only come through stronger pressure on Russia. Speaking from Kyiv, where intensified Russian drone and missile attacks have forced EU diplomats to work from corridors and behind bulletproof windows, Mathernová calls for stronger air defences and a tougher European response to Russia’s hybrid war. Read our full interview with Katarína Mathernová on EUobserver 👉https://lnkd.in/e23kkxUD Investigative. Influential. Independent. Your EUobserver.

Spain's Pedro Sánchez has called snap elections for 29 November, after parliament rejected his housing decrees, giving him a hot-button political issue for his election platform. But polls favour the opposition centre-right People's Party, which may need the far-right Vox to govern. And the loss of Sánchez would be a big blow for the centre-left in Brussels.

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.

Drone attacks on Kyiv’s ageing bridges risk paralysing commutes, trade and emergency services for hundreds of thousands of people ahead of winter.

EXPLAINER | Europe is worried about running short of gas. But a global gas glut could be just around the corner. 🌍 The EU plans to delay part of its new methane rules until 2028, fearing tougher requirements could disrupt imports at a time when Hormuz flows are constrained and Russian gas is being phased out. But analysts also expect a wave of new LNG supply to hit the global market. So which is it: gas shortage or gas glut? And does Europe really need to delay its methane rules? We break down the numbers, the risks and what happens next 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYUp-5jU Investigative. Influential. Independent. Your EUobserver.