In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Polish Prime Minister saying the budget portfolio will go to Poland, Renew rejecting Meloni's candidate for the EU vice-presidency, and so much more.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday (5 September) he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by billionaire supporter Elon Musk if he wins the 5 November election.

Ghana is piloting a system that traces cocoa beans from farm to port as it gears up for a new EU law banning the import of commodities linked to deforestation, a government official said on Thursday (5 September).

The Bulgarian government pledged on Thursday to fight the shadowy and criminal organisations that profit from traffic at its borders and tarnish the country's image.

Members of the ruling Slovak National Party (SNS) have bypassed Education Minister Tomáš Drucker (Hlas-SD/NI) to introduce an anti-LGBTI+ bill aimed at schools, despite the European Commission currently taking Hungary to court over similar legislation.

Czechia has sufficient gas network capacity to support other countries in case of disruption of Russian supplies via Ukraine, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN, EPP) wrote in a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.

The EU on Thursday (5 September) said the arrest of a presidential candidate in Tunisia and the exclusion of three others contravenes "democratic values".

Warsaw is on track to win the budget portfolio in the new European Commission that many member states crave, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, confirming earlier press reports.

After reports from Brussels suggested that Italy’s commissioner pick was in the running for the vice presidency, with a portfolio covering the economy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the majority in the European Parliament began to show growing opposition.

Former TAP privatization deal is under investigation by the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s office. Deal was sealed under watch of then Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque, appointed as Portugal’s future European Commissioner.

Germany will consider new measures to turn away irregular migrants arriving from other EU countries, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Thursday (5 September), as pressure on the government to tackle irregular migration continues to mount.

News over the European Commission looking for a lead scientific adviser for the AI internally was met with consternation across the political spectrum this week, but the Commission denies ever having promised otherwise.

After months of political deadlock, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister.

Increasing demand for green steel through minimum quotas for carmakers is not the right way to decarbonise steel production, carmakers said, while environmentalists consider the car industry to be “uniquely placed” to work as a lead market for green steel.

The election of former European Commissioner and Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has caused a stir in France, but has been met with more measured reactions abroad, where he is no stranger - even if this means overlooking his more recent Eurosceptic stances.

Greek health economists support the creation of a €1,4 billion National Cancer Fund, a strategy for financing oncology care that leverages existing revenues, such as excise duties.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has committed to a 2025 Biotech Act. Now, Belgium's Flanders Institute of Biotechnology is calling for a biotech coalition of member states to steer the Act to success.

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for Chinese cooperation with its efforts to establish the origins of COVID-19, after unveilng a new guide on the investigation of novel pathogens.

A nationwide referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant, and nine key tasks to enhance Kazakhstan’s future were laid out in President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s state-of-the-nation address.

As most of Europe headed to their favourite holiday destinations, European agriculture grappled with the challenges of record-breaking temperatures and prolonged droughts, impacting critical food-producing regions. Elisabeth looks at climate impact on EU agriculture.