US President Joe Biden and European leaders urged caution after a rocket struck a Polish village and killed two people just over the border from Ukraine, keen to avoid the incident triggering any major escalation with Russia. Polish President Andrzej Duda said it was unclear who launched the rocket, while Russia’s Defense Ministry denied its forces had aimed missiles at targets near the frontier. Speaking at the G-20 summit in Bali, Biden told reporters that the rocket was unlikely to have been fired from Russia. Kyiv and other locations in Ukraine had earlier come under a barrage of Russian missile attacks. NATO and G-7 leaders condemned the strikes — which caused energy outages across the country — as “barbaric,” though they carefully worded a description of the “explosion” in Poland’s territory. As the investigation continues, NATO ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting this morning to discuss the next steps.

— Natalia Drozdiak and John Follain

What's Happening

Gas Cap | The Commission is considering proposing a maximum price ceiling for one of the world’s biggest natural gas hubs to help meet the demands of governments calling for the controversial tool. The exact parameters to trigger the so-called market correction mechanism on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility would be fixed upfront to avoid lengthy decision-making procedures, according to a document shared with member states yesterday.

FTX Impact | The EU is monitoring the collapse of crypto exchange FTX Group as it tries to finalize the adoption of a broader set of regulations for digital assets. The bloc is examining whether the crisis has any consequences for the single market, an EU official told us.

Twitter Watch | Twitter’s European privacy watchdog said it’s “closely” monitoring the situation after an exodus of key staff in recent days, including the social-media firm’s data-protection chief, sparked safeguarding fears. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission commented after an initial meeting Monday to clarify next steps with staff in Dublin, where Twitter has its European base.

EU-Australia | European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel will meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today on the sidelines of the G-20 in Bali, as the bloc aims to mend ties and strengthen cooperation in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly assertive behavior.

Brexit Gaps | The UK still sees “big gaps” with the EU over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Parliament yesterday. While some progress has been made on a live database tracking goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland, there is no resolution and the two sides are not on the cusp of a deal, he said.

In Case You Missed It

Chemical Beach | When a 2017 study found that the Tuscan town of Rosignano had elevated death rates from Alzheimer’s and other ailments, some residents began to ask if it might be linked to the milky discharge pumped onto its famous White Beaches by Brussels-based chemical giant Solvay SA. But the town’s mayor and his allies on the council have beaten back demands to fund and begin a new study.

Ukraine Training | The EU launched its new military mission yesterday, which is aimed at training as many as 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of its member states, including Poland. It will be commanded by the bloc’s director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability, Vice Admiral Herve Blejean.

Chinese Chips | President Xi Jinping urged Dutch leader Mark Rutte to avoid “decoupling” as the US pressures the Netherlands to avoid selling high-end chip technology to China. “We must oppose the politicization of economic and trade issues and maintain the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain,” Xi told Rutte at a meeting in Bali.

Squeezing Orban | The EU must wield its financial leverage over Hungary by withholding billions in funding as a way to whittle away support for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a top Czech lawmaker said. Marketa Pekarova Adamova, the speaker of the lower house of parliament in Prague, told us that Orban pursues aims that conflict with the EU values.

Chart of the Day

French unemployment declined slightly in the third quarter to 7.3% as the number of people out of work continues to hover around the same level as at the end of 2021, when the job market had recovered from a slump during the Covid pandemic. Further improvement is a key objective of President Emmanuel Macron after he set “full employment” by 2027 as the cornerstone of his economic policy.

Today's Agenda
All times CET

• 2:00 p.m. Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic speaks at event on EU-Ukraine strategic partnership on batteries
• College of Commissioners gathers in Brussels
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group
• Von der Leyen participates in the main working session on digital transformation at the G-20 meeting in Bali
• Von der Leyen and Michel meet Australian Prime Minister Albanese on margins of the G-20 meeting
• Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi in Georgia