Euobserver.com

Macedonia's former prime minister Nikola Gruevski has fled to Hungary and asked for political asylum, according to his Facebook post, after a Skopje court ordered his arrest when he failed to surrender for a two-year corruption sentence. "Over the last few days I have received countless threats against my life," the post said. Gruevski, a pro-Kremlin ally of Hungary's PM Viktor Orban, is also facing other trials in Macedonia.

Italy would be committing economic "suicide" if it fell in line with EU rules, its deputy leader has said, in a sign that Rome has little intention of bowing to pressure ahead of Tuesday's budget deadline.

EU ministers' discussion on how to address rule of law issues in Poland and Hungary gets stuck on procedural issues, while Viktor Orban's government claims it is a target of the Brussels elite because of its anti-migration stance.

Turkey's refusal to hand over personal data of Syrian refugees means the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors are unable to fully trace "from cradle to grave" over €1bn spent to help them.

Many people used the opportunity to cross the Cypriot border, closed since 1974, when two new crossings opened on Monday - the first in eight years. "These crossing points will play an important role in helping to increase people-to-people contacts, contributing to build much-needed trust and confidence between the communities on the island," Elizabeth Spehar, UN special representative and head of the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, said.

Austria's foreign minister Karin Kneissl, famous for dancing with Russian president Vladimir Putin at her wedding, has canceled a visit to Moscow on 2 December. Meanwhile Vienna has opened an investigation into a retired colonel, who is suspected of providing Moscow with information about Austria's air force, artillery and the migration crisis. The scandal is a severe blow to Austria's attempt to better relations with Russia during its EU presidency.

More than two months after the election, a vote in the Swedish parliament on Wednesday to elect moderate leader Ulf Kristersson as the new prime minister looks doomed to fail after the leader of the Centre Party, Annie Loof, on Tuesday announced her party would vote against him. "We do not want to give Sweden Democrats a power position, or a historically unique influence in Swedish politics," she said.

A Spanish audit court has ordered former Catalan leader, Artur Mas, and nine other politicians to repay €4.9m of public money spent on holding a non-binding referendum on Catalan independence on 9 November 2014, which had been ruled illegal by the Spanish Constitutional court. When Catalan separatists held another referendum in October 2018, police shut down polling stations, arrested leaders and injured hundreds of voters.

A high-profile peace conference on the future of Libya opened on Monday in Palermo, Italy, to push for a new UN plan to stabilise the troubled North African country, left in chaos since western powers toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The meeting also needs to overcome differences between Italy and France, both having extensive oil interests in Libya but using different approaches to bring stability in the area.

The UK wants "early progress on listings to ensure the chemical weapons sanctions regime is used robustly", a British diplomat told EUobserver Monday, referring to new EU sanctions against people guilty of chemical weapons violations. He declined to confirm or deny a press report it would seek EU visa bans and asset freezes on six Russian spy chiefs. EU states expect a detailed UK proposal this week.

Romania will be unable to manage its EU presidency next year, the country's head of state has warned - prompting a backlash by the ruling party.

Romania's data protection authority has threatened a €20m fine against reporters investigating high-level corruption. The European Commission has since issued a warning, telling Romanian authorities to give press exemptions when it comes to privacy rights.

Sergei Magnitsky gave his life to fighting corruption. The least we can do is to honour his sacrifice in the name of the legislation that his heroism inspired.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier briefed EU affairs ministers in Brussels on Monday on developments in the Brexit negotiations, saying that intense negotiations continue, but the agreement has not been reached yet. Avoiding a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remains the key obstacle. "We have time, but not so much," Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said, adding the EU awaits a "positive signal" from London.

French and German leaders denounced nationalism at WWI memorials attended by the nationalist heads of Russia, Turkey, and the US. Similar divisions were also on display in Poland.

Members of the liberal Alde group agreed on Saturday to partner with Emmanuel Macron's En Marche party for the European elections. But they have deferred choosing a presidential candidate until February.

Six weeks before Romania takes over the presidency of the European Union on 1 January, the minister in charge of preparations, Victor Negrescu, has resigned, according to Romanian media. The European Parliament is due to adopt a resolution this week criticising several laws passed in recent months by Social Democrat-led government in Romania, which critics say threaten the independence of judges and the fight against corruption.

Finland's GPS signal was intentionally disrupted during Nato's 'Trident Juncture' war exercise ending on Wednesday, Finnish prime minster Juha Sipila said on Sunday, adding that "it's possible that Russia was behind it". Sipila said jamming of GPS aviation signals was technically easy and had increased the risk of civilian air traffic accidents. Forces from 31 countries participated in the Nato exercise, the largest in decades, and close to Russian borders.

Co-leader of far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, is under pressure to step down after German media revealed she accepted €130,000 in campaign donations from a Swiss pharmaceutical company. Germany only allows political party funding from German citizens abroad and the Bundestag must be informed of donations of more than €50,000 from a single donor. "If the donation was illegal, Weidel must resign," SPDs Johannes Kahrs told Handelsblatt.

Germany's interior minister, Horst Seehofer, on Sunday offered to step down as Christian Social Union (CSU) party leader, suggesting a special party convention in early 2019 to elect a new leader. It comes as the Bavarian party's new cabinet is sworn in on Monday to govern in coalition with the Free Voters, after a historically poor result in October elections. Seehofer's future as interior minister is unclear.