December 5, 2023
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban demanded on Monday that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and billions of euros in funding meant for the war-torn country be taken off the agenda at a summit of the bloc’s leaders next week. In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, who will chair the Dec 14-15
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will back Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia for “as long as it takes.” The military alliance pledged this week to continue offering its continuous support to the Eastern European nation following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on the second day of the organization’s Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting.
READ MORETurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Hungary’s capital in December, his second trip to Budapest this year at a time when both countries remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s accession into the trans-Atlantic military alliance. During his visit on Dec. 18, Erdogan will take part in a meeting of the
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Pressure is growing on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden’s membership of the US-led military alliance. ADVERTISEMENT NATO’s Secretary General urged Turkey to ratify Sweden’s entry into the military alliance “as soon as possible” on Monday. Stockholm “has kept its promises, the time has now come for Turkey to finalise the accession process,” said Jens
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Crowds celebrated outside the president’s palace in Georgia’s capital as Tbilisi took another step towards EU membership. ADVERTISEMENT On Wednesday, Georgia was told that it should officially be named as a candidate to join the bloc once it addresses shortcomings, including in the fight against corruption and election deficiencies. This doesn’t mean that it will start
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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. This article is an on-site version of our Europe Express newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday and Saturday morning Good morning. I’m just back from a
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Speaking at a conference in Berlin, Ukraine’s foreign minister said the country’s EU membership bid should not be held up by bloc reforms. ADVERTISEMENT Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Thursday he was “optimistic” the European Union would soon open accession negotiations with his country. His comments came as he took part in a conference in
READ MOREThe European Commission chief on Wednesday urged Bosnia to speak “with one voice,” regardless of the country’s different ethnic groups, so that it can move forward toward joining the European Union after gaining candidate status last year. The remarks by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen came as she wrapped up her tour of
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Ukraine’s president says starting EU accession talks this year will be a strong motivation for the country as it fights Russia’s invasion. ADVERTISEMENT Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told European Union commissioners that starting membership talks with the EU this year was a top priority for Kyiv as it fights the Russian invasion. In
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Right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday compared the nation’s European Union membership to over four decades of occupation by the Soviet Union’s communist regime. “Today, things pop up that remind us of the Soviet times. Yes, it happens that history repeats itself,” Orbán said during a speech in Veszprem intended to commemorate Hungary’s 1956
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