Spain Housing Crisis & Snap Election: Pedro Sánchez’s government is set to approve urgent housing measures after Barcelona unrest, with violence erupting following nationwide protests over evictions and rent pressures; the package mirrors proposals Parliament rejected last week, prompting Sánchez to call a Nov. 29 election. France School Protests: A “day of mobilisation” is underway as high-school students and unions join marches over understaffed, underfunded schools, with hundreds of arrests and reports of escalating clashes. EU–China Trade Tensions: EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič heads to talks with China on market access, shipments and rare-earth export controls, as the dispute spills into defence and rare-earth/magnet restrictions. EU Enlargement Rules: The Commission is set to present a new pre-enlargement strategy, including how a bigger EU could function, with qualified majority voting proposed for some interim accession steps. EU Budget Fight: Ursula von der Leyen warns “frugal” states against large cuts to the next long-term budget, saying critical priorities are at stake. AI Transparency in the EU: OpenAI will add invisible watermarks to eligible ChatGPT and Codex outputs in the EU under the AI Act, while stressing detection limits. Germany Security & Espionage: Prosecutors have arrested former BND chief August Hanning on suspicion of treasonous espionage. Energy & EV Politics: Britain cuts household electricity VAT to zero but renters using public chargers still face 20% VAT; meanwhile EU EV sales hit record levels.