EU-Ukraine gas deal agreed, as Russia increases pressure
Ukraine, Russia and the European Union have agreed on a deal that would secure the resumption of Russian natural gas flowing to Ukraine in time for winter.
Analysis
France and Italy avert budget clash with Commission, Britain forced to foot extra EU budget bill
France and Italy have managed to sidestep an unavoidable collision with the European Commission over their 2015 budgets by pledging additional fiscal measures to cut their deficits. Meanwhile, Britain is forced to pay the additional £1.7bn it has been calculated to owe for the EU budget.
Habemus European Commission
The EU, as of 1 November, will have a new commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker, the veteran Luxembourgish politician. It is the result of an intense process lasting almost a month, during which MEPs have scrutinised the candidates in public hearings.
Draghi and the San Gennaro Miracle
The city where the latest European Central Bank (ECB) meeting was held, Naples, could have been centre stage for its President Mario Draghi to introduce the much-anticipated and miraculous Quantitative Easing (QE), which has yeilded good results for the US economy. Despite playing on home turf, however, the Italian banker chose to keep that ace (the purchase of public debt similar to those purchased by the US Federal Reserve) up his sleeve, and to stick to the path set by asset-based securities. This means buying private debt, as early as this month, to revive an ailing eurozone that registers a stagnant five-year low inflation rate.
