On 23rd October the Commission presented its working programme for 2019. It hopes to come to agreement with the Council on the legislative proposals on already existing laws regarding ten of the Union's policies. It will also present a limited number of new initiatives in the areas of environment, artificial intelligence, the Single Market. The Commission will defend the vote by a qualified majority within the Council for energy, climate, taxation and social policy and it will adapt to changes linked to Brexit. The Commission also wants to put forward ideas for "Communicating Europe".

On 23rd October the Commission put forward its proposals to strengthen the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality in the European decision making process. It hopes to integrate a "subsidiarity grid" in all of its impact analyses. It will make its proposals to the Member States during a conference organised by the Austrian presidency on 15th and 16th November.

On 24th October the Commission adopted the proposal on fishing opportunities for 2019 regarding turbot and sprat, the two most commercially important types of fish in the Black Sea. Quotas will be divided between Romania and Bulgaria. The proposal will be examined by the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 17th and 18th December.

MEPs approved a draft directive on 24th October, 571 votes against 53 and 34 abstentions regarding the ban on single use plastic products (straws, plates, cotton buds), oxo-plastics and some types of polystyrene by 2021. Other plastics where no alternatives available are to be reduced by at least 25% by 2025 and Member States will have to encourage their reuse and recycling. Negotiations are due to start with the Council at the beginning of November.

MEPs adopted three regulations on 24th October which updated the Schengen Information System (SIS). They will enable alerts regarding people who are on a wanted list and who are linked to serious crimes, and also regarding the abduction of children and vulnerable people at risk. This reform will oblige national authorities to provide details of a terrorist attack with all other Member States. There will also be warnings regarding the decisions to return illegal immigrants. From now on Europol will have total access to SIS and border and coast guards will have partial access to it. The regulations now have to be approved formally by the Council.

On 24th October the Parliament adopted its position on the EU's draft 2019 budget. With 389 votes in support, 158 against and 123 abstentions, it asked for a total budget of 166.34 billion €, including additional sums for Erasmus+ and for the youth employment initiative. It rejected the 794 million € cut put forward by the Council in programmes for growth and employment. It asked for additional funds towards pre-membership aid for the Balkans, for the European Neighbourhood Policy and for the Cooperation Financing Instrument, but it reduced funds allocated to Turkey. This vote marks the start of three weeks of negotiations with the Council which immediately warned that it could not accept the Parliament's position.

The President of the Parliament, Antonio Tajani, announced to the Strasbourg hemicycle on 25th October the 2018 winner of the Sakharov Prize for the freedom of thought. This year Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and of the annexation of Crimea, is the winner. Imprisoned in Russia, he was on a 145 day hungerstrike until the beginning of October in protest against his 20 year sentence for "terrorism" and for the "trafficking of arms". The prize-giving ceremony will be held in Strasbourg on 12th December.

MEPs adopted a resolution on 25th October inviting Facebook to submit to a complete audit by the Union's authorities to assess the protection of consumers' personal data. This resolution follows the Cambridge Analytica scandal. After the possible political use of data by Cambridge Analytica during the referendum on Brexit and during the US Presidential election in 2016, MEPs suggested an update of the electoral laws to take on board the new reality of the digital world.

MEPs adopted a draft set of rules, 398 votes in support (79 against and 32 abstentions) so that lorries and buses are taxed according to the distance and not the time taken for the journey - as of 2023 - this will apply to utility vans as of 2027. MEPs advocate a different road tarification according CO2 emissions and a limit on car vignette prices. They also hope that as of 2020 a State can no longer exempt certain heavy goods vehicles or lorries of road tax. The Council must now define its position on the issue.

Deeming that the level of xenophobia in Europe has reached a worrying level over the last few years, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on 25th October that aims to counter neo-fascist groups. To do this it advocates the introduction at Europe and national level a series of measures that will impact education, the media and justice. It advocated the drafting of a Union level consolidated anti-discrimination legislation.

The Union's military committee which brings together the chiefs-of-staff of the Member States' armies met in Brussels on 24th and 25th October. Discussions mainly focused on military missions under the CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) and EU-NATO cooperation. European military commanders also exchanged views with their counterparts from the Balkans, South Korea and Vietnam.

The European Commission signed four conventions with Tunisia on 25th October to a total of 270 million €, on the first day of an official visit by its President Jean-Claude Juncker on the invitation of the head of the Tunisian State Béji Caïd Essebsi. These conventions concern energy transition (50 million), the support of tax reform and socio-economic, inclusive (70 million) promotion of competitiveness and external trade (90 million) and support to the judicial sector.

On 26th October as part of the 100th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Prague to meet Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The two leaders emphasised their excellent relations, particularly in the economic and strategic areas.

On 29th October the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond announced his new budget. Known for his fiscal rigour, his pragmatism, but also for his love of Europe, the Finance Minister announced a rather optimistic budget, but warned against a disorderly Brexit that which might endanger everything. "Forecasts suppose that we shall achieve a negotiated exit, an average free-trade agreement, and this budget is based on this. If we get a better agreement there will be an advantage. If we leave without an agreement we shall find ourselves in different circumstances and this will require a different approach, a different answer."

More than 3.1 million resident permits were delivered in the Member States of the Union in 2017, ie a 4% increase in comparison with 2016, according to figures published by Eurostat on 25th October. The main beneficiaries were from Ukraine, Syria and China and the permits were mainly established in Poland, Germany and the UK. Work, studies and family reasons were the first reasons for residence.

On 26th October the Committee published the first report on the implementation of specific competition rules in the agricultural sector. This report shows that the EU's work helps farmers achieve better sales conditions and to protect themselves from unfair practice. The Commission hopes that this first report will provide guidelines for future European and national legislation.

Until 30th November Paris is hosting the 16th international Jazz Festival Jazzycolors in which 21 European cultural centres are taking part.

From 4th November to 1st December the Congress Centre and the Cetri Balti Krekli will be hosting the "Bildes Festival" that provides great opportunities to innovative trends in jazz, blues and folk.

The Viennale, the international film festival of Vienna, is taking place until 8th November in the Austrian capital. It is showing new productions and also screening old German, European and international films.

The "Alle origini dell'arte" exhibition of hundreds of works by the German-Swiss artist, Paul Klee on the theme of "primitivism" is being organised at the MUDEC museum in Milan from 31st October 2018 to 3rd March 2019.