October 24, 2025: Frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, Mercosur trade negotiations, and UN reform; French Budget Debate Starts; Moody's Review; Welsh Labour Tensions
Description
Today's, October 24, 2025 and the political landscape is dominated by high-stakes diplomacy and international tensions, particularly the continued fallout from the recent EU summit in Brussels.
Leaders failed to reach an agreement on the crucial issue of using frozen Russian assets to underwrite a substantial loan for Ukraine, with discussions stalled until the December summit due to "very serious questions" and concerns raised by countries like Belgium.
This impasse comes on the same day that the "coalition of the willing" gathers via video, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, aiming to restore momentum and develop concrete plans to "further strengthen Ukraine’s hand and cripple Russia’s ability to continue to wage war".
Adding to the diplomatic disarray, the summit was marred by confusion over Mercosur trade negotiations, after German Chancellor Merz prematurely announced all EU leaders had voted in favor of the deal, only to be immediately contradicted by EU Council President António Costa and other key figures.
Internationally, as the UN Charter marks its 80th anniversary, the President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, emphasized that fundamental reforms of the UN Security Council are "absolutely overdue" to prevent the organization from falling into "irrelevance".
Closer to home, several significant domestic political battles are unfolding. In Paris, the National Assembly begins its examination of the 2026 State budget in what is being described as an "unprecedented" exercise, as the Prime Minister has pledged not to use the controversial Article 49.3 to force its adoption. Heightening the fiscal pressure surrounding this debate, the rating agency Moody’s is scheduled to deliver its verdict tonight on France’s capacity to repay its debt, following recent downgrades by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.
Meanwhile, UK politics has been rocked by the results of the Caerphilly Senedd by-election, described as an "unmitigated disaster" for Welsh Labour, which lost a seat held for over a century to Plaid Cymru, with Reform UK achieving a strong second place.
This shock defeat prompts difficult "soul-searching" for Labour in both Cardiff and Westminster, confirming that current political trends are far from boring.
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