France: French election: Macron and Le Pen clash in TV presidential debate - by Henri Astier & Paul Kirby

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has fallen behind centrist Emmanuel Macron in the opinion polls but millions of voters are still undecided.

It did not take long for the two-hour-45-minute clash to burst into life. The candidates confronted each other on the cost of living, Russia, climate change and immigration.

Around 15.6 million viewers watched the debate, in which Mr Macron accused his rival of being dependent on Russian power while Marine Le Pen called him a hypocrite on climate change.

Spiralling prices have dominated the campaign and immediately took centre stage in the debate.

Read more at: French election: Macron and Le Pen clash in TV presidential debate - BBC News

Poland presidential election heads for second round - BBC News

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has topped the first round of voting but must still go into a run-off vote in the presidential election.

The conservative Mr Duda will face the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, in the second-round vote in two weeks' time.

With more than 99% of results in, Mr Duda took just under 44% of the vote and Mr Trzaskowski just over 30%.

 Read more at:
Poland presidential election heads for second round - BBC News

EU-US Free Trade Talks: NSA spying scandal clouds second round of EU-US free trade talks

Originally, the second round of talks on the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(TTIP) between the European Union and the United States was scheduled to be held in October. However, the US government shutdown postponed negotiations.

Moreover, allegations that the US intelligence agency NSAspied on EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, sparked bitter recriminations and calls in Europe to halt TTIP talks.

Issues of trust had been raised, an EU official close to negotiations told the German DPA news agency on Friday, adding that the matter would not be a subject on the agenda of the talks.

Nevertheless, the EU's personal data protection standards would not be compromised in the discussions as the transfer of data in general was a key component of a modern economy, the official said.

The current round of talks, which began Monday, covers services, investment, energy, raw materials and focuses on regulatory issues. Negotiations were still in an exploratory phase, the EU official said, adding that it would take a further round to identify more clearly where the talks might need a political impulse.

Tariffs between the EU and the United States are already rather low, meaning that the free trade talks need to focus on reducing regulations and bureaucratic hurdles. Controversial sectors are said to be agriculture, including food safety, as well as the auto industry. Harmonizing regulatory standards in the car industry, for example, might cut costs by 20 percent, the EU estimated.

Note EU-Digest: several members of the EU parliament have voiced the suggestion that if these talks ever come to an agreement it, not only the national parliaments would have to agree but that the agreement  should also be subject to an EU- referendum  with all member countries participating.

Read moreNSA spying scandal clouds second round of EU-US free trade talks | Business News | DW.DE | 11.11.2013