Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
The EU has announced it will launch the rollout of its new entry system involving fingerprinting and facial recognition instead of passport wet stamping on 12 October (12:41).
Multiple leaders from EU countries lined up to warn about the consequences of the EU-US tariff deal agreed on the weekend, stressing that even thought it’s better than no deal, it would likely still hit the bloc’s economies, including France (14:41), Germany (14:05), and Italy (16:15).
Italy has summoned the Russian ambassador to Rome after comments by the country’s president and two ministers were listed on the Russian government’s website as an example of Russophobic behaviour (12:26), with prime minister Giorgia Meloni expressing her solidarity and criticising Moscow for “yet another propaganda operation” (15:56).
Ukraine’s parliament will vote on a new law on Thursday that would restore independence to two anti-corruption bodies, backtracking on a controversial law passed last week that curtailed their powers and led to a political crisis (17:28).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Ukraine parliament to vote on law to restore powers of anti-corruption bodies
in Kyiv
Ukraine’s parliament will vote on a new law on Thursday that would restore independence to two anti-corruption bodies, backtracking on a controversial law passed last week that curtailed their powers and led to a political crisis.
Last week’s legal changes prompted rare wartime street protests against the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and accusations that the presidential office was trying to protect powerful associates from anti-corruption investigations.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities, while European leaders spoke with Zelenskyy and made it clear that funding for Kyiv could be affected if he was seen to be hampering anti-corruption efforts.
Surprised and alarmed by the strength of the reaction, Zelenskyy announced late last week that he had listened to the criticism and would table a new law.
“It seems they really miscalculated, they completely underestimated the strength of the reaction,” said a western diplomat based in Kyiv.
Several European leaders spoke last week with Zelenskyy about the law, urging him to find a way out of the crisis. “It was important for him to hear it from his peers,” said the diplomat. European officials have also cautiously criticised the bill in public.
