Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the United States on Sunday (22 September) to attend sessions at the UN General Assembly and urged his partners to help achieve "a shared victory for a truly just peace."

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and representatives of the ruling Socialist Party met in Geneva on Friday in an attempt to smooth relations after the separatist leader's party voted against the ruling Socialists despite having previously agreed to back each other in parliament.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his party, the SPD, see themselves strengthened after winning a crucial state election in Brandenburg against the far-right, as the party of his newly minted challenger Friedrich Merz suffered heavy losses.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) will have little time on Monday (23 September) to digest the results of the third round of local elections as he prepares for talks with car sector leaders on getting the country’s largest industry back on track.

Italy will formally present a proposal at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday to bring forward to the first half of 2025 the review of the EU's 2035 ban on combustion engine vehicles, currently scheduled for 2026, announced Italy’s Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has asked  Environment Commissioner-designate Jessika Roswall to overhaul the EU's landmark REACH regulation, a move likely to expose her to a major grilling from the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI). 

World leaders are gathering in New York for the UN Summit of the Future, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres has described as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to reshape international institutions, even though leaders of the so-called Permanent Five will be absent.