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The European Union in a statement issued on Monday has accused China of being responsible for a massive cyber attack earlier this year. The attack targeted Microsoft Exchange servers, affecting over a quarter of a million servers around the world. The statement said the malicious cyber activities "significantly affected our economy, security, democracy and society at large. The EU and its member states assess these malicious cyber activities to have been undertaken from the territory of China." The statement appears to take EU-China relations to a new low not seen for decades.

Michel emphasised the importance of lasting peace in the region and said the European Union was ready to play a positive role as an honest broker to contribute to peace and stability in the region.

The European Council president, Charles Michel, has began a regional tour of the South Caucasus aimed at re-enforcing the EU's relations with the region. On Saturday, Michel arrived in Armenia where he had a meeting with prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and afterwards addressed a press conference. Michel told journalists that the EU has the ambition to have a loyal, engaged and active relationship with the region that would contribute for its stability, prosperity and security.

The European Commission has adopted a new report on EU border regions with analysis and recommendations on how to strengthen the resilience of border regions also in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Over the last years, France has faced criticism for its perceived stance against Islam. In this commentary for commonspace.eu, Camille Victor suggests that this stems from a misunderstanding of France's unique interpretation of secularism, arguing that the preservation of the French secular model requires finding ways to appease rising tensions whilst simultaneously acting against very real threats to the country's core republican values.