Welcome to Rapporteur. This is Eddy Wax with Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels.
Got a story we should know about? Drop us a line – we read every message.Need-to-knows:
- Commission: Race to replace retired DG Competition chief Olivier Guersent narrows to a handful of names
- Exclusive: EU countries weigh new Frontex powers for airspace and critical infrastructure protection
- Climate: France expected to drop opposition to 90% target, paving way for deal ahead of COP30 in Brazil
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From the capital
In the mean streets of Brussels neighbourhood Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, one of Belgium’s poorest, stands the glistening Madou Tower. Inside sits DG Competition, the EU directorate that keeps massive corporations in check and oversees billions of euros in state aid.
High up in Belgium’s fifth tallest building, a chair now lies empty. The field of candidates to replace the retired Olivier Guersent has narrowed to just a handful of names, my colleague Anupriya Datta reports.
The appointment is coloured by fears of enraging Donald Trump, who has frequently gone ballistic against EU fines levied on US tech giants.
Whoever takes the top civil service post will need to mesh with EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera – who’s taken a far less bullish stance on enforcing antitrust rules than her predecessor, Margrethe Vestager, and faced criticism for her slow work on merger reforms, not to mention her outsized focus on the Middle East.
Contenders said to be in the mix include Anthony Whelan, Céline Gauer, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, and Guillaume Loriot (not related to the German comedian). But it could also end up being a total outsider.
Ursula von der Leyen will almost certainly have an idea of who she wants in the job. After all, the role was once held by none other than Ernst Albrecht, her father. The Albrecht dynasty: now there’s a cartel in the making!.
Exclusive: Frontex eyes drone-busting role
EU countries are considering giving Frontex, the EU’s border agency, new powers to defend the bloc’s airspace and ward off hybrid threats, according to documents seen by Rapporteur. Over the weekend, drones of unknown origin buzzed above a Belgian military base.
The debate reflects growing appetite among capitals to align Frontex’s mission with Europe’s shifting security environment, and comes just months after the agency adopted a NATO-inspired chain of command.
A review of Frontex’s mandate is slated for next year, with envoys expected to discuss the issue at a meeting on 5 November.
Clinching a climate consensus
Environment ministers look set to finally agree on Tuesday on the bloc’s 2040 climate ambitions, according to my colleague Nikolaus J. Kurmayer. Multiple sources close to the talks said France – which had fiercely opposed the 90% emissions reduction target pushed by EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra – is now ready to sign on.
After getting concessions on climate outsourcing and industrial support schemes like the EU’s new steel protections, Paris got an extra olive branch on Saturday: a special emergency brake covering Europe’s underperforming forests, whose reduced CO₂ absorption will be deducted from the overall target.
Hoekstra said over the weekend that he’s “confident” of a deal, though the negotiations could still come unstuck. Agreement on 2040 would also clear the way for the delayed endorsement of the EU’s UN-mandated 2035 climate target – months after it was due but just in time for next week’s global climate jamboree kicking off in Brazil.
MEPs push court test for Mercosur deal
A cross-party group of MEPs led by Greens Majdouline Sbaï and Saskia Bricmont is mounting a legal challenge to the EU-Mercosur trade deal before its expected signature in Brazil, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro reports.
Their motion, set for a vote on 24 November, seeks an opinion from the EU’s top court on whether the pact breaches the bloc’s treaties – a move that could stall ratification for years.
The effort, expected to win backing from sceptics across party lines and member states long opposed to the deal like France and Ireland, reflects mounting unease over the agreement’s “rebalancing,” which could restrict the EU’s ability to introduce new environmental or health rules.
The capitals
BERLIN 🇩🇪
Germany struck a cautious note after China signalled a partial thaw in its chip dispute with the Netherlands, saying it would exempt some Nexperia exports from its recent ban. The move offers relief for Germany’s auto giants, who had warned of supply shocks, though officials in Berlin said it was too early to tell whether tensions with China were truly easing.
ROME 🇮🇹
Protests erupted in the northern Italian city of Parma over the weekend after a video showed fascist chanting inside the local headquarters of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and its youth wing in the city. About a thousand people gathered peacefully as prosecutors opened an investigation. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said those involved “should be kicked out,” while Meloni has not commented.
MADRID 🇪🇸
Spain has launched proceedings to dissolve the organisation that promotes the legacy of late dictator Francisco Franco, citing its glorification of the regime and humiliation of its victims. The move enforces a 2022 law aimed at recognising victims of the Civil War and Franco’s rule, with a court to decide whether the body is shut down.
WARSAW 🇵🇱
More than two-thirds of Poles believe relations with Ukraine have deteriorated in 2025, according to a United Surveys poll by IBRiS for Wirtualna Polska. Just over 8% said ties between Warsaw and Kyiv had improved. Among supporters of Donald Tusk’s government, 65% said relations were worse than a year ago, nearly the same share as opposition voters, at 64%.
PRAGUE 🇨🇿
Czechia’s new coalition of populists and nationalists, led by Andrej Babiš, signalled a turn away from EU integration even as it stays loyal to NATO in its programme, finalised on Friday and to be officially presented today. Rejecting euro adoption, the EU Migration Pact, and the Green Deal’s core targets, it calls the 2035 combustion engine phase-out “unacceptable.” The incoming government said it would seek to enshrine the Czech crown in the Constitution, expand nuclear energy, and retain some coal capacity.
Schuman roundabout
It’s raining directors: After a frenzy of new directorates-general, the European Parliament is adding yet another to its dedicated research DG, known as the EPRS. It’s now seeking a director for “academia, research and foresight” – who will be paid a healthy AD14 salary, raking in around €16,000. Kerching!
Also on Euractiv
After nineteen sanctions packages, enforcement is the real test
Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to test Europe’s unity and resolve. Nineteen sanctions packages later,…
4 minutes
After 19 sanctions packages against Russia, the EU faces a hard truth: rules mean little without enforcement.
In an op-ed for Euractiv, Rasmus Grand Berthelsen, senior director at Rasmussen Global and lecturer at Copenhagen Business School, argues that the bloc’s patchy implementation has let restricted goods slip through global supply chains, fuelling Russia’s war machine.
His call is clear – build real enforcement muscle, close loopholes, and shift from drafting lists to strategic disruption.
Agenda
📍 Informal meeting of culture ministers in Copenhagen
📍 Kallas visits Bosnia and Herzegovina
📍 Brunner speaks at the launch of the OECD’s annual report on migration
📍 Dombrovskis attends a lecture at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia
📍 Metsola in Rome; speaks at the Coldiretti executive committee meeting
Contributors: Nikolaus J. Kurmayer, Anupriya Datta, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, Alessia Peretti, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek, Aneta Zachová
Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara
