European Union

Masked settlers reportedly attacked Palestinian civilians, European diplomats and Catholic representatives visiting Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. The EU condemned the attack and called for accountability; a French mayor was assaulted, a Belgian vehicle damaged and Israeli police opened an investigation.

On 16 October in Brussels, EU leaders renewed support for Ukraine as Zelensky and Trump clashed over energy strikes and US backing. Zelensky sought an additional €70 billion for next year; the EU asked its commission to propose financing, but made no concrete funding promise.

Trump defended waiving Russia sanctions to keep Moscow at the negotiating table and accused Zelenskyy of not wanting to end the war. Zelenskyy said the move would strengthen Putin’s war effort and hurt Ukraine, as US-Ukraine talks and strikes on energy sites continued.

G7 leaders agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of crude and diesel through the IEA over four months, including a substantial diesel release in the first 20 days. Members also agreed not to restrict energy exports to one another; Trump later said the US would not impose a diesel-export ban.

At Labour’s Liverpool conference, Andy Burnham outlined plans for free-at-use social care, changes to the pension triple lock by 2030, cheaper home ownership, publicly owned utilities and a long-term EU relationship. The government plans to legislate for the pension changes before 2030.

EU countries agreed to remove Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the sanctions blacklist while extending sanctions on nearly 3,000 other people and entities for three years. Latvia dropped its opposition, prompting anger from Ukraine.