On 28 October, the European Commission published the results of a Eurobarometer survey on young people and democracy, carried out between June and July 2026. According to the survey, whilst 75 per cent of young people surveyed believe that decisions taken at European level affect their daily lives, only 38 per cent think that policy-makers take the long-term consequences of their choices into account. On 30 October, the Commission published the results of a Barometer survey on the European Union's role in civil protection. According to this survey, 91 per cent of those surveyed believe that the Union's coordinated action should be further strengthened in order to deal more effectively with disasters and crises in the future.

Until 21 March 2027, the Centre d'Art Chaumont in Aix-en-Provence is hosting an exhibition dedicated to Henri Cartier-Bresson, to mark the bicentenary of the birth of photography. The exhibition explores the photographer's work through the prism of his relationship with Europe. Organised chronologically, the exhibition invites visitors to discover, through Cartier-Bresson's lens, the tensions that preceded the Second World War, the ruins and traumas of the post-war period, and the Cold War, during which the European Union project began to take shape.

On October 29, Alice Rufo, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, and Vitalii Kim, Ukraine's Minister of Veterans Affairs, signed a roadmap for Franco-Ukrainian cooperation in the area of veterans affairs. It is based on four pillars: structural and legal issues; health; rehabilitation and social and professional reintegration; and remembrance. This is a plan for specific joint actions between the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs for the next ten years.

The conflict between Donald Tusk's government and President Karol Nawrocki is escalating around the Constitutional Tribunal. Following the events of the night of 31 October to 1 November, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Tribunal in Warsaw. The trigger: a statement from the Court announcing the temporary removal of its president and deputy president, with Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska taking over on an interim basis. In power from 2015 to 2023, Law and Justice (PiS), which is close to Nawrocki, had appointed judges sympathetic to the party to lead the Court. However, in December 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the Court was neither independent nor impartial, due to serious irregularities in the appointments. The Polish President refused to administer the oath of office to several judges elected by Parliament, despite this being a purely formal procedure.

From 26 to 29 October, the Finnish Parliament hosted the 78th session of the Nordic Council, which brings together heads of government, ministers and parliamentarians from the region: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, as well as Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. On 28 October, the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, addressed the assembly. In his speech, he called on the Nordic countries to continue their support for Ukraine and to remain united in their efforts to promote peace. Several leaders reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine. They emphasised the importance for the Nordic countries to cooperate in order to further strengthen prevention and security in all areas.

From 26 to 30 October, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz undertook a working visit to Singapore, Japan and South Korea with a view to strengthening economic ties between Germany and its partners in the region. On 28 October, in Japan, he called at the German-Japanese Business Summit for greater investment, enhanced technological cooperation and rules-based free trade. The resumption of trade negotiations between ASEAN and the European Union was discussed. The two countries adopted measures aimed at strengthening their partnership and deepening their cooperation on security, particularly in the field of armaments. They also signed a declaration on economic security and expressed their commitment to reducing their critical dependencies.

The 21st EU–Canada Summit took place in Montreal on 29 and 30 October. Leaders called for an "Alliance for the Future" to deepen the strategic partnership between Canada and the European Union. This alliance is centred on six areas: trade and regulatory cooperation; digital, research and communications technologies; critical resources and energy; financial services and markets; security and preparedness; and people-to-people links. Furthermore, the status of "associated member", put forward by the President of the European Commission during her State of the Union address in September, was not included in the joint declaration; instead, the phrase "ever closer association" was preferred.

On 29 October, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it was keeping its three key interest rates unchanged. The deposit facility rate thus remains at 2.50 per cent, the main refinancing operations rate at 2.65 per cent and the marginal lending facility rate at 2.90 per cent. At the press conference, Christine Lagarde and Boris Vujčić, President and Vice-President of the ECB respectively, emphasised that, despite certain adverse factors, the euro area economy was continuing to grow. They noted that the euro area unemployment rate stood at 6.4 per cent in August and that inflation had accelerated again, rising from 3.2 per cent in August to 3.8 per cent in September.

Iliana Iotova has won the Bulgarian presidential election with 57.56 per cent of the vote, ahead of Andrey Gyurov, who secured 39.48 per cent of the vote. Her election, marked by a particularly low turnout of 29.1 per cent, could strain Bulgaria's relations with Russia and the European Union, against a backdrop of growing tensions in the Black Sea, as the president favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes financial aid to Ukraine.

On 29 October, energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg discussed the proposed regulation on electricity network charges, which aims to reduce the costs of the electricity system and electricity bills, in particular through the roll-out of smart grids and smart meters, as well as a more favourable tax framework for electricity. They discussed the EU's energy security outlook for the winter of 2026–2027 and in the longer term, whilst supply and price pressures linked to the geopolitical context persist. Finally, they discussed the energy objectives to be incorporated into the post-2030 framework, particularly with regard to resilience, electrification, flexibility and interconnection.

On 29 October, the European Commission gave a positive assessment of the Czech Republic's seventh and final payment request, amounting to €951 million, under the NextGenerationEU programme. On 30 October, it made payments to France (€6.1 billion), Austria (€306 million) and Luxembourg (€92.2 million) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). With these payments, France and Austria have now received the full amount of the funds allocated to them. The Foundation provides a summary of the various national recovery plans on its website, setting out the amounts, timetables and priorities.

The Foundation has just published the 6th issue of its "Permanent Atlas of the European Union", published by Hémisphères. Available on the Foundation's website and in bookshops, as well as in digital format (e-book) in French, this reference work provides an insight into the European Union, its institutions, each of its Member States and their overseas territories through maps, fact sheets and summary statistics. Order your copy now!

On 27 October, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced the extension of its contracts with Airbus Defence and Space (Germany) and Thales Alenia Space (Italy) for the construction of four additional second-generation (G2) Galileo satellites. The contracts were signed on 23 October in Rome and on 26 October in Ottobrunn. These four satellites supplement the twelve G2 satellites already ordered in 2021 (six from each manufacturer) and bring the G2 fleet to sixteen satellites. They are due to be delivered in 2031, with launch to follow immediately. As a flagship programme of the European Union, Galileo is funded and managed by the European Commission as part of the EU's space programme.