The EU welcomed the parliamentary elections in Ukraine, calling it “a victory of the people and of democracy,” adding it expected a new government to be formed soon, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement.

The European Council agreed on the 2030 climate and energy package, including a cut of at least 40 percent in greenhouse gas emissions, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton thanked Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci for “statesmanship” he had shown in the Pristina/Belgrade agreement, expressing a hope that the dialogue would restart as soon as possible.

The European Parliament gave its strong support to the new European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker with 423 votes in favour, 209 against and 67 abstentions. The Juncker Commission can thus start its term of office on 1 November 2014.

Having recognized that Ebola “represents and unprecedented crisis which requires an unprecedented response,” the Foreign Affairs Council concluded the need to make an increased effort fighting it, EU High Representative Catherin Ashton said following the meeting in Luxembourg. The Council also discussed situation in Libya, Syria and Iraq as well as in Ukraine and Middle East.

More gas will continue to be delivered to homes and companies if EU member states cooperate and allow the market forces to work as long as possible, a Gas Stress test report presented by the European Commission showed. Serbia, along with Finland, Estonia, Bosnia and Macedonia to be the most affected in case of a prolonged supply disruption.

During the years 2010-2012, EU Member States registered 30 146 victims of trafficking in human beings. Behind this number are human tragedies, broken hopes and destroyed plans for a better life. During the same period, 8 551 prosecutions against traffickers were reported across the EU. 80 percent of victims of trafficking were female, and over 1 000 child victims were registered as trafficked for sexual exploitation. This data is part of a statistical report on victims and perpetrators of trafficking released today by the European Commission. A report also shows that many concrete measures against this severe human rights violation have been undertaken during 2010-2014, such as better cooperation with civil society, and guidelines issued to border authorities and other stakeholders on how to better identify victims.

The European Commission and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) signed a three-year cooperation agreement which committed the two institutions to working together on the integrity of sport, respect for human rights and dignity, non-discrimination and solidarity.

The European Union has hailed high participation at Bosnia’s general elections and said it expected that institutions and governments at all levels be formed quickly in order to address key challenges for the country, a statement from the spokesperson of High representative for foreign and security policy said.

EU has called Bosnia to hold a democratic, credible and inclusive elections and said a strong turnout would be “of utmost importance” so citizens decide who to entrust and task to deliver a positive change.