If Joe Biden gets into the White House, Europeans would undoubtedly gain a more polite, less unpredictable and certainly more sensible interlocutor. But they would be wrong to believe that the transatlantic relationship will revert to what it was during the Cold War, warns Jean-Dominique Giuliani.

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The 27 Heads of State and government met by videoconference on 29 October to discuss the health crisis, in particular the coordination of quarantine rules and the interoperability of tracing applications. The Commission announced the release of €220 million for the transfer of patients between countries. Following the terrorist attack in Nice on the same day, the Council expressed solidarity with France and condemned Turkey's rhetoric.

On 28 October, the Commission proposed additional measures to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. It proposes to improve the interoperability of alert and contact applications, and to develop an application showing health measures and travel restrictions within Member States. It calls for a coordinated implementation of its recommendations on free movement. In addition, it is mobilising €100 million to acquire and distribute antigenic screening tests to States and is launching two joint tenders to acquire and distribute more tests and medical equipment for vaccination between States.

Negotiations are continuing between the Council and Parliament on the mechanism of conditionality of European funds linked to the rule of law, and on the multi-annual budget 2021-2027. On 29 October, Parliament's negotiators reiterated that MEPs want strong conditionality as well as protection for the beneficiaries of the funds and inclusion of the Parliament in the decision-making process. Concerning the multiannual financial framework, on 28 October the Council refused Parliament's request to exclude the costs of the recovery fund from the MFF ceilings, which would provide a margin of €12.9 billion to finance programmes.

The health ministers, meeting by videoconference on 30 October, discussed coordination between Member States in the face of the pandemic, following the meeting of heads of State and government the day before. They also discussed the role of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and how to strengthen it.

In a video conference on 29 October, European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to step up information exchange and cooperation between the European Union and Canada to ensure universal and affordable access to COVID-19 tests and vaccines. They also discussed cooperation within the G20, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, the Paris Agreement and assisting developing countries in their green transition.

The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, assured on 29 October that the ECB will respond to the second wave of coronavirus as it did to the first, when it launched a €1,350 billion programme. She stressed that expansionary fiscal policy was the best remedy for the contraction of the European economy expected in the last quarter of the year. Pending the next Governors' Council meeting on 10 December, the ECB kept its key rates unchanged.

According to the 2020 equality index published on 29 October by the European Institute for Gender Equality, it will take another 60 years for Europe to achieve full equality given its current progress. Women's involvement in decision-making in the political and economic spheres accounts for 65% of the progress made by EU Member States since 2010 but remains one of the worst performing areas. Women are also under-represented in scientific and IT fields.

The new international "Willy Brandt" airport in Berlin finally opened its doors on 31 October, 9 years after the initially planned date. This airport is the 3rd biggest in Germany and is expected to host 27 million passengers per year.

The Prime Ministers of France and Romania, Jean Castex and Ludovic Orban, signed on 26 October a new roadmap to strengthen the strategic partnership between their two countries in the economic field as well as in defence, infrastructure and energy, in particular civil nuclear power.

Tens of thousands of Polish women are demonstrating daily in Warsaw and throughout the country under the slogan Strajk Kobiet (Women's Strike) to protest against the ruling of the Constitutional Court on 22 October, which prohibits the voluntary interruption of pregnancy (abortion) in cases of severe foetal malformation. On 30 October, around 100,000 people gathered in the Polish capital to demand that women be given the right to choose.

On 31 October, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new lockdown in England from 5 November to 2 December to curb the coronavirus epidemic. The measures are similar to those decreed in March. The British are called upon to limit their movements to what is strictly necessary and not to meet people outside of the home. Schools and universities remain open. Wales imposed further lockdown as of October 23. Since 16 October, bars and restaurants have been closed in Northern Ireland.

According to the still provisional results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia on 31 October, the Georgian Dream, the party of Prime Minister Guiorgui Gakharia, won around 48% of the votes. The opposition is contesting these results and has called for demonstrations. According to the electoral commission, the turnout was about 56%.

The pro-European candidate Maia Sandu came first in the first round of the presidential election in Moldova on 1 November with 36% of the vote. In the second round on 15 November, she will face the outgoing head of State, Igor Dodon, who won 33%. 2,200 observers were deployed during this election, including 34 by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The Serbian Parliament swept in the new government headed by outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on 28 October. The government, which emerged from the 21 June parliamentary elections won by the Progressive Party (SNS) of Ana Brnabic and President Aleksandar Vucic, has 23 ministers, including 11 women, mainly from the SNS, the Socialist Party (SPS) and the Patriotic Alliance (SPAS).

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 27 October that Turkey had violated Article 10 of the Convention, which guarantees freedom of expression. Several national courts had convicted the leader of the main opposition party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who appealed to the Court. The Court concluded that these convictions could deter others from criticising Turkish President Erdogan, and that the domestic courts should have guaranteed Kemal Kilicdaroglu's right to freedom of expression.

At an OECD Council meeting on 28-29 October, Member States pledged to strengthen their co-operation to combat the epidemic, make future treatment accessible to all and support economic recovery. Ministers set out principles to guide economic recovery. This must support the transition to a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive economy, with a focus on digital transition and education.

The annual inflation rate in the euro zone has stabilised since September and is estimated at -0.3% according to figures published on 30 October by Eurostat. The fall in prices is largely due to energy prices.

Until February 7, 2021, the CentroCentro cultural space in Madrid retraces 60 years of the career of the Colombian painter "Fernando Botero: 60 years of painting". 67 paintings have been brought together in a seven-part exhibition, reflecting the recurring themes of the work, such as Latin America, religion and bullfighting.