The Homeland Union - Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), the main opposition party in Lithuania, came out ahead in the first round of parliamentary elections on 11 October with 24.8% of the vote. It won 23 seats in the 70 constituencies that voted by proportional representation. It leads the Farmers' and Green Party (LVZS) of outgoing Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, which obtained 17.5% of the vote and 16 seats. 68 seats remain to be filled in the second round on 25 October in a single-member constituency (3 candidates were elected in the first round). The LVZS may find it difficult to stay in power as its two coalition partners have not managed to cross the threshold to be represented in the Seimas, the single house of parliament.

Since the "rigged" presidential election of 9 August, the Belarusian people have been protesting against the continued rule of Alexander Lukashenko. While opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, exiled in Lithuania, has just met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and addressed French MPs, and while arrests of opponents and police violence continue, the Union has decided to punish leaders of the regime and continues to call for political dialogue. To follow this crisis, the Foundation offers you a chronology of events and links to European reactions and initiatives.

On 6 October, the Commission set priorities for negotiations with official and potential candidates for EU membership, proposing a €9 billion economic and investment plan to boost economic convergence with the Western Balkans. The annual reports show that the main sticking point for the candidate countries remains the rule of law, especially corruption, justice and the press. Accession negotiations have been open with Montenegro since 2012 and Serbia since 2014, while they have stalled with Turkey (2005). Northern Macedonia and Albania are candidates for membership but have not begun negotiations; Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have the status of potential candidates.

The Parliament approved the reshuffle in the Commission on 7 October. Following the plenary vote, the Commission's executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis will take over the trade portfolio (515-110 in favor, with 70 abstentions). Mairead McGuinness will become commissioner for financial services, financial stability and capital markets union (583 votes in favour and 75 against (37 abstentions). The two candidates were interviewed by MEPs on 2 October. Ms McGuinness' appointment was formally adopted by the Council on 12 October.

The 27 Ministers of Economy and Finance, meeting by videoconference on 6 October, reached an agreement on the recovery plan, which has yet to be negotiated with Parliament. The plan provides for a 37% share devoted to the ecological transition, 20% for digital technology and the allocation of 10% of the funds (€672.5 billion) from 2021.

On 6 October, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the High Representative of the Union Josep Borrell met the Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on the occasion of the 22nd EU-Ukraine Summit. They assessed the results of the association agreement in place since 2017 and agreed on the criteria for economic aid such as economic reforms, the fight against corruption as well as the media situation and the visa issue. Ukraine announced its intention to join the European Horizon Europe and EU4Health programmes.

Latvia's Ineta Ziemele and Czech Republic's Jan Passer took office as judges of the Court on 6 October for a four-year term. A formal sitting was held in Luxembourg on the occasion of these two replacements.

According to an analysis document published on 6 October by the European Court of Auditors, the Commission needs to strengthen its recycling policy if it wants to reach its target of 55% recycled plastic waste by 2030. This target is likely to be undermined by future restrictions on waste recycling, in particular the extended producer responsibility regime to promote recyclability, as well as the ban on shipments of waste outside the EU. Increasing recycling capacities in the EU and establishing an effective preventive framework against illegal waste shipments are to be considered by the Commission in order to achieve its strategy.

In a report on cybercrime in 2020 published on 5 October, Europol notes that the pandemic and lockdown have led to "significant changes and criminal innovations". Cybercriminals have been able to exploit the increase in time spent on the internet to steal more data and increase sales of fake medicines against Covid-19. The report highlights the lack of adequate protection on a large number of computers.

On 7 October, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, presented a recovery plan financed to the tune of €72 billion from the European Recovery Fund, to which €27 billion will be added in 2021 from the national budget. He listed 10 priorities, including infrastructure (12% of the funds), education and training (18%), modernisation of industry (17%) and science and innovation (17%). In line with the targets set by the European Commission, public investment related to the ecological transition will account for more than 37% of the plan's total.

The Athens Criminal Court ruled on 7 October that the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party was a "criminal organisation". The party founder Nikos Michaloliakos as well as 6 former MPs and MEP Ioannis Lagos were found guilty of "leading a criminal organisation". About 40 other persons, including former MEPs, were convicted of "membership" of such an organisation. They will know their sentences at a later hearing, but they face between 5 and 15 years in prison. The court found Yorgos Roupakias, a party member, guilty of the murder of rapper Pavlos Fyssas in 2013. He faces life imprisonment.

On 6 October, the Italian government adopted a decree-law amending the anti-migrant laws introduced 16 months ago by the previous government. From now on, NGOs that carry out rescues in compliance with the law of the sea and in coordination with national authorities will no longer be fined.

The new Polish government was sworn in on 6 October after a reshuffle to resolve tensions between Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's Law and Justice (PiS) party and two minority parties in the ruling coalition. The PiS president, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the real inspiration behind the government's policy, has become Deputy Prime Minister with authority over the ministers of Justice, Defence and the Interior. The government has been reduced from 20 ministers to 14 and only one woman remains in office.

On 5 October, the UK Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee issued a report on terrorism in Northern Ireland. The MPs and Lords warned that a hard Brexit and the return of a physical border to the island of Ireland would increase the risk of a return to violence because the new infrastructure would be "both a target and a recruitment opportunity for dissident Republican groups". The issue of Northern Ireland and the preservation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended the violence has been a priority for the EU since the start of the Brexit negotiations.

On 6 October, the European Court of Human Rights announced that following the escalation of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh, it will apply Article 39 against "all States directly or indirectly involved in the conflict, including Turkey" if they violate Convention rights. Article 39 is an urgent procedure that allows for interim measures to be taken against any State party to the European Convention on Human Rights that is found to be in breach.

On 6 October, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) unveiled its forecasts for international trade, which is expected to contract by 9.2% in 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic, before rebounding by 7.2% in 2021. The drop in trade flows would finally be less significant than expected (-12.9% anticipated by the WTO in April 2020) but the figures for the recovery could also be revised downwards as the pandemic has created "an exceptionally high degree of uncertainty".

On 6 October the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that the world economy is emerging from the depths of the crisis. But it is far from being over. All countries are facing "the long climb" - a difficult one that will be long, uneven and uncertain. And subject to setbacks". In a study published on 8 October on the effects of lockdown measures, 'Francesco Grigoli and Damiano Sandri indicate that one of the enduring lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is that a sustainable economic recovery will only come through the resolution of the health crisis.

The Museum of Ethnography of Geneva (MEG) is showing the exhibition "Jean Dubuffet, a Barbarian in Europe" until 28 February 2021, a tribute to the artist's visit to post-war Switzerland, which was decisive for his definition of "Art Brut".