Finland officially joins NATO: In a statement, US President Joe Biden praised the addition of Finland to NATO, and pointed out it was the fastest ratification process in NATO’s modern history. „When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO,“ Biden said. „He was wrong. Today, we are more united than ever.“ German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers‘ meeting in Brussels that the alliance would become stronger with Finland. Other NATO countries as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj also welcomed the accession. Sweden is still waiting to join NATO. Hungary and Turkey – both NATO members – have resisted; Turkey accuses Sweden of harboring Kurdish separatists whom it regards as terrorists. npr.org, auswaertiges-amt.de

• Czech Republic and Slovakia call on EU to implement sanctions against Russia.
• First Polish fighter jets arrive in Ukraine.
• Zelensky to visit Warsaw.

Russia to put nukes near Belarus’ western border: Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus’ borders with NATO neighbours, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said Sunday. Belarus shares a 1,250-kilometre border with NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Ambassador Boris Gryzlov’s comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement about plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russia’s neighbor and ally. The announcement marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine. apnews.com

• British Intelligence notes high levels of alcohol abuse contributing to Russian military losses in war with Ukraine. skynews.com.au

‘Vulkan files’ leak reveals Putin’s global and domestic cyberwarfare tactics: Russian intelligence agencies worked with a Moscow-based defence contractor to strengthen their ability to launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation and surveil sections of the internet, according to thousands of pages of confidential corporate documents. The documents detail a suite of computer programmes and databases that would allow Russia’s intelligence agencies and hacking groups to better find vulnerabilities, coordinate attacks and control online activity. washingtonpost.com

EU and US want to ensure energy security and accelerate green transition: The war in Ukraine and the rise on energy prices it triggered have deepened the EU’s energy relationship with the US. The EU-US Energy Council met in Brussels and discussed, in particular, the outlook for next winter, including the situation in Ukraine and Moldova. Participants discussed how to accelerate decarbonisation through clean-energy technologies and energy savings, while ensuring that the clean-energy transition is socially just. euronews.com

Macron and von der Leyen in China: French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are travelling to China on a three-day visit that begins this Wednesday. The visit will focus on the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and include difficult trade talks, as well as climate-related issues. Macron is expected to warn China against sending arms to Russia and to ask that the country use its influence to help peace efforts. dw.com

Von der Leyen calls for tougher policy on China: Europe needs to be bolder on China, which has become more repressive at home and more assertive abroad, according to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She warned Beijing not to side with Moscow in bringing compromised peace to Ukraine. “We have to recognise that the world and China have changed in the last three years — and we need to reassess CAI in light of our wider China strategy,” she said. politico.eu

Police raid EPP party’s Brussels office in German investigation: Belgian police and German investigators carried out a raid on Tuesday at the headquarters of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) as part of an investigation in Germany. According to German media, the raid was in relation to an ongoing corruption investigation into Mario Voigt, the leader of the Christian Democrats in the German state of Thuringia, over his role in the EPP’s digital election campaign in the 2019 European elections. The investigation centres around allegations that Voigt received kickbacks from an internet company that was awarded a contract during the campaign, a newspaper reported. reuters.com

Britain to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc in biggest trade deal since Brexit: The British government said it will join the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, unlocking access to a region with a total GDP of £11 trillion. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailed the deal and said it puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies. The trade bloc spans Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia, among others. The agreement is expected to be formally signed by year end, after final approval from Parliament and the 11 member states. cnbc.com

• Poll: Britons have more confidence in EU than Westminster. theguardian.com

European court condemns Italy for degrading treatment of migrants in Lampedusa: Refugees from Tunisia had sued because of the conditions on the Italian island of Lampedusa. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy must compensate the migrants. Among other things, Italy had violated the ban on inhuman or degrading treatment. The people had been virtually imprisoned without official order or time limit. In addition, their individual situation was not clarified before entry bans were imposed. This was in fact tantamount to a prohibited collective expulsion. zeit.de

EU’s exception from biomass sustainability rules raises eyebrows: The EU’s biomass sustainability rules will apply more loosely in overseas territories like French Guiana to promote economic development there, but the exception inserted in the bloc’s Renewable Energy Directive will lead to increased deforestation, environmentalists say. euractiv.com

Swiss prosecutors probe Credit Suisse ahead of UBS takeover: The Swiss attorney general’s office says it has opened a probe into the events surrounding embattled bank Credit Suisse, which is to be taken over by rival UBS. Switzerland’s government and financial regulators helped engineer the hastily arranged, $3.25 billion agreement that was aimed in part to help calm worries about the global financial system and will leave the country with a single huge global bank. apnews.com

Oil prices surge as OPEC cuts output: Gas prices are expected to jolt upward after Saudi Arabia and other major oil exporters significantly slashed production on Monday, ignoring demands from the White House. The pullback by the oil-producing bloc known as OPEC Plus was framed as a precautionary measure to ensure stability in the energy market and came despite earlier signals that it would make no further reductions this year. As a result, several top investment banks predicted that crude prices could again hit $100 a barrel. washingtonpost.com