Euobserver.com

Europe heads into uncertain territory with France in turmoil, the UK voting on the Brexit deal, and Germany will have a new leader of its largest ruling party. EU leaders will also discuss the eurozone and migration at their summit.

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei said on Friday it was "surprised and disappointed" European Commission vice-president Andrus Ansip said Europe should be worried about Chinese intelligence services having access to information sent via Huawei products. "We categorically reject any allegation that we might pose a security threat," Huawei said in a statement. The company said no government ever asked it to install any backdoors into its devices.

It's not surprising that a handful of nationalist European governments – Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Italy – have followed Trump's lead in rejecting the UN's migration pact, to be formally adopted in Marrakech next week.

The European Commission claims sea crossings from Libya are more dangerous because smugglers are using less seaworthy boats. But it fails to explain why that is - an omission of their own policies of boat capture and seizure.

The Nordic Pavilion at COP24 is dedicated to dialogue – TalaNordic – about key themes regarding the transition to a low-carbon society, such as energy, transport, urban futures, the circular economy and green financing.

The EU's digital commissioner, Andrus Ansip, said on Friday that "we have to be worried" about Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei. He was asked about the company after Canadian authorities arrested Huawei's chief financial officer. "They [Huawei] have to cooperate with their intelligence services," said Ansip. He added some Chinese firms are forced to install so-called backdoors in smartphones. "I was always against having those mandatory backdoors," he added.

The European Union unveiled a new plan on artificial intelligence on Friday - which mandates member states to have their own national plans. The authors believe 'like the steam engine or electricity in the past, AI is transforming the world.'

EU states Thursday endorsed a definition of antisemitism put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental body in Berlin. They said it should be "a useful guidance tool" in education and training, including for police, even though leading academics say the definition conflates antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel's actions in Palestine. The final EU text dropped more hawkish language on IHRA compliance contained in earlier drafts.

Hungary and Poland have come out as the EU capitals of homophobia by boycotting a gay rights declaration.

France is set to close major tourist sites in Paris this weekend amid fears of riots following mass anti-government demonstrations by the so-called 'yellow vests'. Prime minister Edouard Philippe announced 89,000 police officers would be deployed throughout France ahead of the 'yellow vests' march set for Saturday. Some 8,000 police officers will be in Paris.

An anti-migrant bill recently passed in Italy, dubbed the 'Salvini decree', is forcing some migrants out into the streets, reported The Guardian, a British newspaper. The bill abolishes humanitarian protection for those not eligible for refugee status and unable to return home. The newspaper reports dozens of migrants have since been evicted from a welcome centre. Victims of sex-trafficking and a child were among those made homeless.

Latvia has become the latest in a series of EU states to reject a non-binding United Nations pact on migration. Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland have also refused to sign the agreement. Belgium's parliament on Thursday voted in favour, although the government is bitterly divided over the issue. The UN agreement, which has been two years in the making, imposes no obligations.

The Austrian EU presidency says a plan to create an EU standing corps of 10,000 border guards by 2020 may not be "feasible", given concerns over national sovereignty issues. Austria's interior minister Herbert Kickl instead spoke of a gradual build-up during the next seven-year EU budget. "The Commission's target with these fixed figures [of 10,000] by 2020 actually goes beyond the scope of what is feasible," said Kickl.

Why all the fuss? You might not like their political views but let the Italian government implement some pro-growth reforms because austerity did not work in jumpstarting their economy.

New rules to force MEPs chairing committees or drafting reports to publish meetings with registered lobbyists took a step closer to reality. The measure was narrowly backed 11 to 10 at the constitutional affairs committee but still needs plenary approval.

EUobserver has exposed Moroccan lobbying at the European Parliament, prompting a probe to be launched against several MEPs. The Greens have now decided to boycott next week's Morocco trade vote in protest, saying the lobbying investigation must be finished first.

Is Mogherini's 'Global Tech Panel' just a talking shop, or does it contribute to EU policy? New documents suggest the latter, but give little clue how technology leaders from Microsoft and Google influence new AI strategy.

New research finds there was "no negative impact on the economic performance" of companies that fall under the EU's emissions trading system.

EU judges in Luxembourg will rule at 9AM on Monday whether the UK could unilaterally revoke Brexit, its press office said. The verdict will fall one day before British MPs vote on the UK-EU withdrawal deal. An EU jurist said earlier this week that judges should back unilateral revocation, putting wind in the sails of anti-Brexit MPs. His "opinion" was non-binding, but the court is expected to follow suit.

Serbia, backed by a fake news campaign, has threatened to send in its army to stop "ethnic cleansing" of Kosovar Serbs, stirring bad memories of the Balkan wars.