Euobserver.com

Whether on Russia, or gas, or climate change, or food security, the EU's constant finger-wagging and moralising is becoming unbearably repetitive and self-defeating. Most countries in the Global South view it as eurocentric and neo-colonial.

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen suspects the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines may be caused by sabotage. "It is hard to imagine that it is accidental. We cannot rule out sabotage, but it is too early to conclude," she told Danish news agency Politiken while in Poland, where she attended the inauguration of the Baltic pipeline, which will connect the Norwegian gas grid to Poland.

Sweden's maritime authority detected two leaks on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Tuesday, shortly after Danish authorities discovered a leak in Nord Stream 2.

Moscow's military mobilisation and the subsequent fear and unrest in Russia, means the question of Vladimir Putin's political future and possible regime change in Russia has reappeared.

In Warsaw and Budapest, the prime ministers were quick to congratulate the new Italian leader, who — they hope — will back them in their battles with the EU over civil rights, rule of law and democratic backsliding.

The concept paper includes getting EU missions to seal cooperation deals between EU member state intelligence and security services with the host governments.

Europe should have in place an electronic EU-wide database on catch certificates to better track illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing from third countries, auditors said.

The EU is adding Anguilla, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands to its blacklist of tax-havens, in what some have called a "fig-leaf" exercise.

The Czech presidency proposed a compromise that would reduce a plan to claw back fossil fuel companies' excess profits.

The problem is many of the reasons Kyiv has so successfully fended off Russia's onslaught in cyberspace cannot simply be replicated anywhere else — not least due to international law.

EU countries have dropped calls for an "independent" enquiry into the alleged Israeli killing of Palestinian journalist Shirin Abu Akleh from a declaration on Israeli ties. The document, to be published while meeting Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid in early October, but already agreed by EU diplomats and seen by EUobserver, also voices "strong opposition to Israel's settlement policy and activities". It "looks forward" to closer gas cooperation.

EU countries are looking to stop the use of fireworks inside football stadiums and other spectator arenas across the bloc, in a new strategy proposed by the Czech EU presidency and seen by EUobserver. It pushes for all 27 countries to criminalise the practice at national level and to train people in health and safety issues. The strategy is not legally binding, but could lead to future legislation.

A far-right bloc, led by former fascist Georgia Meloni, barrelled to victory in Italian elections on Sunday with up to 45 percent of the vote.

The European Union and its 27 member states will play a decisive role in deciding the fate of the hippo.

German citizens are suing their government over its failure to bring air pollution levels down.

Italians cast their ballot yesterday on Sunday and chose a rightwing majority parliament, which is expected to have a turbulent relationship with Brussels.

Ireland has joined Poland and the Baltic states in lobbying for more hawkish Russia sanctions, in a sign of widening moral outrage in Europe.

All the articles you should not have missed this week.

While a cap on revenues from renewables is aimed at redirecting excess profits from low-cost electricity generation back to consumers, analysts and industry groups argue such measures come with risks — and at a bad time.

Some 6,470 Russians arrived in Finland across the land border on Thursday, according to figures posted by the Finnish border guards."Incoming traffic is now greater than outgoing traffic," it said. This compares to over 4,800 on Wednesday, the same day Russia's president Vladimir Putin announced a plan to draft some 300,000 Russians to fight in Ukraine.