September 29, 2025: Moldova's Pro-EU Victory, Merz plans "concrete list of demands" for Copenhagen Meeting, and Liverpool Starmer Protest

Moldova’s Pro-EU Dream Survives: We analyze how Moldova’s pro-Western government, led by President Maia Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity, secured a decisive electoral victory despite widespread Russian interference, including over 700 detected influence operations, hoax bomb threats, and disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting Sandu. With Chișinău choosing the EU again, Brussels must now address its enlargement headaches. We look at creative plans being hatched by European Council President António Costa to relax rules requiring unanimous support to advance accession talks for countries like Ukraine and Moldova.Copenhagen: All eyes turn to Copenhagen, where EU presidents and prime ministers will hold a high-stakes informal summit focused on bolstering shared defense capabilities and countering spiraling Russian threats, including discussions on developing a "drone wall". However, the meeting faces a threat from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who vowed to put a "stick in the wheels" of the "machine in Brussels" to halt "constant regulation". Merz is demanding immediate, concrete steps to provide relief for Germany’s sluggish economy, arguing the EU "always regulates more, always more, always more". His demands include overturning the 2035 EU ban on combustion engines.Starmer Fights the Machine in Liverpool: At the Labour Party conference, Keir Starmer and his allies draw battle lines, taking on Nigel Farage over immigration policies (which the PM signaled were "racist" and "immoral") and simultaneously countering the perceived "unsubtle leadership challenge" from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlines plans for a migrant ‘good citizen’ test to secure permanent settlement, requiring foreign citizens to volunteer, speak English, and have a "spotless" criminal record. Plus, we cover the contentious debate over two motions demanding sanctions on Israel and a vote on whether to accept a UN commission finding that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.