The European Union should avoid any moves towards political “centralisation” or else Austria could hold a referendum on membership of the bloc within a year, a far-right candidate who almost won the country’s presidential election said.

A proposal to give the EU’s executive the power to send forces unbidden into member states to defend the common European frontier will face resistance from some countries when it is published this week.

In politics, the benefits of talking like a real person as Donald Trump does are questionable, especially in a winner-takes-all electoral system like the US, writes Leonid Bershidsky

The EU has sought to calm fears in countries such as Britain, France, and Germany that they face a mass influx of Romanians and Bulgarians following the lifting of restrictions, a change that risks fuelling anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe.