ECB to keep raising rates if need be

The EU should consider visa bans on violent Israeli settlers, as well as a tougher crackdown on Palestinian group Hamas, in reaction to the Gaza war, EU foreign-relations chief Josep Borrell has said.

EU finance ministers are set to discuss debt and spending rules over dinner on Thursday evening (7 December), in what officials say may turn into an all-nighter.

With less than a month to go before the start of a new leadership of the European Investment Bank, the world's largest multilateral lender, the path seems finally clear for one of the candidates, Spanish finance minister Nadia Calviño.

While some strengths may have been overlooked recently, leading to a more pessimistic outlook on the EU and the euro area than the truly deserve, are there reasons for optimism?

The EU is hoping for a political breakthrough on asylum reform during morning-to-midnight closed-door marathon negotiations on Thursday.

Disruption at the Polish-Ukrainian border by disaffected Polish truckers is escalating, potentially affecting delivery of military aid to Ukraine. A Polish request to reintroduce permits for Ukrainian drivers has been described as "a shot to the head" during war.