Evening Briefing: Europe

Hamas is said to be under pressure from Arab and Muslim national leaders to accept US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan. The leaders argue that the need to end fighting surpasses any concern about the final details of the proposal Trump unveiled this week.

While the plan differs in some ways from what those leaders agreed with Trump on recently, they view Israel’s campaign in the Gaza as a threat to their own national security, people familiar say. The two-year effort to root out Hamas has also given rise to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and others — is preparing a response once it’s consulted with other Palestinian factions about the plan, we’re told. One official stressed that Hamas in theory has little choice but to accept the deal, which would require it to disarm. — Philip Lagerkranser

What You Need to Know Today

Euro-zone inflation quickened in September, reinforcing expectations that the European Central Bank will hold rates steady after eight cuts. Consumer prices rose 2.2% from a year earlier, accelerating slightly from the previous month. ECB President Christine Lagarde said yesterday that inflation is “quite contained in both directions.” Separately, Bank of England official Catherine Mann told Bloomberg TV that interest rates need to remain on hold.

The US is said to be pushing for changes to global bank rules that major European lenders like BNP Paribas have benefited from. Since about three years ago, the euro zone has counted as a single domestic market for that purpose. Federal Reserve officials now want to change that, arguing that banks’ activities in Europe should be considered cross-border, people familiar said. Euro-zone officials are pushing back. A reversal would increase the risk score of Europe’s largest banks, potentially leading to higher capital surcharges under the so-called G-SIB regime. Shares of BNP Paribas initially fell on the news.

A Congolese firm under US sanctions won a court ruling that may aid its claim to a prized tantalum deposit. But it could potentially complicate the US administration’s efforts to shore up supplies of critical minerals. The rule bolsters the claim of a unit of Cooperative des Artisanaux Miniers du Congo, or CDMC, to be the legal owner of the permit for the deposit, near the town of Rubaya. The area contains one of the world’s richest deposits of tantalum-bearing coltan ore and are controlled by a rebel army. But competition around the mining rights has intensified as the US and Congolese governments near a deal that would grant American companies access to the central African nation’s vast reserves of minerals.

New French strikes are poised to disrupt air traffic, adding to the troubles of a nation losing its attraction as a tourist and business destination. Aviation authority DGAC has told carriers to cut 30% of their flights at Paris Beauvais airport on Thursday, when the general strike is planned to start. Things could get worse next week, when the biggest union of air traffic controllers, is calling for a strike.

The EU is pushing ahead with a with €140 billion ($164 billion) in loans from immobilized Russian central bank assets. “When Russia chooses to attack Europe, there is a large bill to pay,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters ahead of a meeting of leaders in Copenhagen today. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week backed the idea, while member stakes including Belgium and France want to see more details on the plan’s legal basis. Russia may retaliate by nationalizing and selling off foreign-own assets, a person familiar said.

Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen, on Oct. 1. Photographer: Nichlas Pollier/Bloomberg

McLaren Racing chief Zak Brown made ($50.3 million) last year after winning the Formula One team title, making him one of the best-paid bosses in sports. And there are indications of more big paydays ahead: McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are currently leading this season’s standings. Last year was the first time since 1998 that McLaren won the team title.

Italy is expected to run a budget deficit matching the EU’s ceiling of 3% of GDP already this year, people familiar say. By narrowing the deficit to that threshold, Italy could be poised to exit the bloc’s excessive deficit procedure. Besides relinquishing its earlier position as the region’s fiscal pariah, the shift could have practical benefits, for example allowing Italy to spend more on defense.