Euobserver.com

Italy's prime minister Giuseppe Conte said that "several EU countries" had agreed to take in the migrants aboard the Ocean Viking, "which will ensure a rapid and suitable solution" for them, Reuters reported. The Ocean Viking, a rescue ship carrying 82 migrants, including 17 children, has asked for permission to enter one of Italy's ports. Italy hopes this solution might be repeated in the future.

Luxembourg will be the first European country to legally regulate the production, sale and consumption of cannabis (the Netherlands has a policy of de facto regulation of sale and consumption only), with all the implications this holds.

Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas, has confirmed Germany will set up a UN-backed conference aiming at stopping arms-trafficking to Libya and reimpose the arms embargo, the Guardian reported. UN envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, said "It remains abundantly clear that without the commitment of key external actors engaged in Libya, the conflict will continue." Without mentioning them by name, Salame was mainly pointing to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

A resolution of the Brexit steering group in the European Parliament says that the parliament might support another Brexit delay if there is a clear goal "such as to avoid a 'no-deal exit,' to hold a general election or a referendum, to revoke Article 50, or to approve a withdrawal agreement," Business Insider reports. It also repeats that any deal must contain a status for EU citizens in the UK.

A study from the European Network Against Racism found "a deeply-routed institutional racism" in every stage of the judicial process, from the reporting up to the sentencing. Despite the rise of racist crimes between 2014 and 2018, many are not taken seriously. Crimes against Roma and black communities in particular are under-reported in Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

Some media - especially those based in Madrid - have emphasised that "the National Day of Catalonia (the 'Diada') has failed". Nothing could be further from the truth.

British prime minister Boris Johnson was forced to deny Thursday that he had mislead the Queen when asking for the suspension of parliament. Johnson was asked about the reasons he gave the monarch after a Scottish court on Wednesday ruled the prorogation was "unlawful" because it was done to prevent scrutiny of a no-deal Brexit by MPs. Johnson said the accusation was "absolutely not true."

The Guardian reported Thursday the leak of a European Parliament resolution - back by both major groupings, the EPP and S&D - that threatens to use the parliament's veto on any agreed Brexit deal that does not guarantee EU citizens' rights in the UK, and ongoing regulatory alignment on environment, consumer and workers' rights. The resolution only applies to an agreed Brexit deal, not a no-deal Brexit.

The new migration commissioner's job title, "Protecting our European way of life", rings not of pan-European solidarity or federalism - but is incorporated from the playbook of the extreme right.

Oxford University in the UK topped an annual world ranking published by Times Higher Education magazine, while Britain's Cambridge University came third. The US dominated, with seven out of the top 10 and 60 out of the top 200. But Germany was "poised to overtake" the UK in having the most European schools in the table, with Oxford's top spot masking a decline in quality in many other UK universities.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte promised to remain "even more rigorous on illegal immigration than the previous government" after visiting Brussels as the head of a new Italian coalition on Wednesday. He said he would "remain human", but urged EU states to create an "automatic system" on burden-sharing, so that if 100 refugees were to arrive in Italy, he could be sure that other states would take their fair share.

A British government report, called Operation Yellowhammer, warns of public disorder, disease outbreaks, and price rises for food and fuel in case of a no-deal Brexit.

After Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened the EU with reopening the migratory routes to Europe if Turkey does not receive more economic support, outgoing EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told Euronews that "the EU-Turkey statement should remain alive (…) [and] not be used as a negotiating tool". Since the agreement was signed in March 2016, the irregular arrivals of migrants entering Greece were reduced by 97 percent.

The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi is expected to announce a new monetary stimulus package on Thursday to shore up the eurozone economy, despite the scepticism of the bloc's biggest economies. However, the new round of stimulus will have a limited impacted on eurozone's biggest problems - a global trade war, Brexit and China's slowdown.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Britain can still leave the EU with a deal. "We still have every chance of getting an orderly [Brexit]. But I also say we are prepared for a disorderly Brexit," said Merkel. British prime minister Boris Johnson aims to obtain a new deal at the 17-18 October EU summit, after the UK parliament passed a law to avoid a no-deal scenario.

A new economic report published on Thursday by the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK) reveals that there is an almost 60 percent chance that the German economy could fall into recession. This is the highest recession risk in Germany since the winter of 2012 to 2013. According to Reuters, researcher Sebastian Dullien said that "the hope that domestic demand could save Germany from a recession is fading increasingly."

European voters believe that EU's foreign policies should be more coherent and effective in order to remain neutral in potential international conflicts, since most EU citizens no longer rely on the US security guarantee, according to a new report.

Yiannis Balbakakis, the governor of the overcrowded reception and identification centre in Moria, on the Greek island Lesvos, resigned on Wednesday saying he is "tired," Ekathimerini reported. He headed the camp for three years and was credited with the creation of "safe zones" for unaccompanied children, women and single parent families. Humanitarian organisations repeatedly criticised the living conditions at the camp, housing 10,000 people, which is four times over capacity.

Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen wants to see "tighter enforcement" of EU rules, and wants the current Belgian foreign minister to take charge.

Ambassadors representing member states will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss extending the mandate of the defunct and boatless Naval Operation Sophia. Sophia is mandated to crackdown on migrant trafficking, but had all its boats pulled following an Italian backlash over where to disembark people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea. The current mandate expires 30 September.