The European Commission’s conclusions on Ukraine turned out to be unexpectedly optimistic.

On 29 October, new agreements between Ukraine and the EU on additional liberalisation of import duties and tariff quotas under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement came into effect.

On 1 November, mass gatherings were held across Serbia to mark the anniversary of the Novi Sad tragedy, where in 2024, the collapse of a railway station canopy killed 16 people.

A growing crisis is unfolding within Hungary’s ruling party, Fidesz.

The EU’s current enlargement policy is increasingly balancing between legal formalities and political blackmail.

The parliamentary elections in the Netherlands on 29 October brought a major and pleasant surprise to liberal Europe and to Ukraine as well.

On 21 October 2025, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy entered La Santé prison to begin a five-year sentence in the "Libya financing" case.

Authoritarian regimes consolidated power by sharpening their methods of control, from electoral engineering and digital surveillance to legal and institutional manipulation.

On 29 October, a new trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU came into effect, replacing the annex to the Association Agreement that outlined the schedule for liberalising import duties.

The previous elections in the Netherlands took place in November 2023. However, the coalition government led by Dick Schoof lasted less than a year.

Catherine Connolly claimed victory in Ireland’s presidential election on 24 October. A staunch left-wing politician, she is a firm supporter of Ireland’s neutrality, a critic of NATO and an opponent of sending weapons to Ukraine.

European Pravda has reported that Ukraine is expecting a critical European Commission report. The document will be released very soon.

On 23 October, the European Council meeting in Brussels put a key question on its agenda: how to finance Ukraine in 2026-2027 and whether frozen Russian assets could be used for that purpose.

The Moldovan parliament is set to officially approve the composition of the new government this week.

Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and the risk of new Kremlin-driven threats in other regions have radically changed how European countries approach national security and defence.