Welcome to Euractiv’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU.

Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges on Thursday, a surprise move that avoids a potentially embarrassing trial weeks before the US presidential election.

The White House convened a meeting with representatives of tech giants and civil society activists on 5 September in a bid to encourage US tech giants to offer more digital bandwidth for government-funded internet censorship evasion tools.

Europe's air safety regulator on Thursday (5 September) ordered inspections on engines of Airbus A350-1000 jets after an engine fire during the flight of a Cathay Pacific jetliner.

The world is emerging from its warmest northern hemisphere summer since records began, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Friday (6 September), as global warming continues to intensify.

A Russian court froze the shares in Raiffeisen Bank International's, the biggest Western bank in Russia said on Thursday (5 September), blocking the sale of the unit and escalating a standoff between Moscow and the West.

The EU Commission engages in 'direct' and 'intensive' collaboration with California legislators, who just approved a new AI bill that could 'strengthen' and 'complement' the EU’s AI regulation.

US President Joe Biden's administration is engaged in urgent discussions with Congress to allow it to use up $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine before a 30 September deadline.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Polish Prime Minister saying the budget portfolio will go to Poland, Renew rejecting Meloni's candidate for the EU vice-presidency, and so much more.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday (5 September) he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by billionaire supporter Elon Musk if he wins the 5 November election.

Ghana is piloting a system that traces cocoa beans from farm to port as it gears up for a new EU law banning the import of commodities linked to deforestation, a government official said on Thursday (5 September).

The Bulgarian government pledged on Thursday to fight the shadowy and criminal organisations that profit from traffic at its borders and tarnish the country's image.

Members of the ruling Slovak National Party (SNS) have bypassed Education Minister Tomáš Drucker (Hlas-SD/NI) to introduce an anti-LGBTI+ bill aimed at schools, despite the European Commission currently taking Hungary to court over similar legislation.

Czechia has sufficient gas network capacity to support other countries in case of disruption of Russian supplies via Ukraine, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN, EPP) wrote in a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.

The EU on Thursday (5 September) said the arrest of a presidential candidate in Tunisia and the exclusion of three others contravenes "democratic values".

Warsaw is on track to win the budget portfolio in the new European Commission that many member states crave, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, confirming earlier press reports.

After reports from Brussels suggested that Italy’s commissioner pick was in the running for the vice presidency, with a portfolio covering the economy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the majority in the European Parliament began to show growing opposition.

Former TAP privatization deal is under investigation by the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s office. Deal was sealed under watch of then Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque, appointed as Portugal’s future European Commissioner.

Germany will consider new measures to turn away irregular migrants arriving from other EU countries, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Thursday (5 September), as pressure on the government to tackle irregular migration continues to mount.

News over the European Commission looking for a lead scientific adviser for the AI internally was met with consternation across the political spectrum this week, but the Commission denies ever having promised otherwise.