Author: Web Master

Good morning, everybody. We are going to have a very intense meeting today, a lot of issues. First, of course, Ukraine; we see a strong push for peace, but it is one-sided. We have not seen any willingness from the Russian side to move or seriously talk about peace. Even the ceasefire for Christmas was rejected. Clearly, we need to put the pressure on Russia, so that they would go from prete...
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We have just concluded our summit with our Western Balkans partners. It is the most significant occasion of the year to reaffirm the strength of our relationship. And today’s summit has delivered a clear message: we firmly support the Western Balkans’ future in the European Union. Enlargement remains central to our shared objectives. It is the right choice for three reasons: first, from a ...
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The S&D Group celebrates today’s strong European Parliament vote in favour of the My Voice, My Choice European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) – a movement uniting over 300 organisations and backed by 1.2 million citizens demanding safe and accessible abortion care across Europe. With nearly 20 million women in the EU still deprived of safe and legal abortion, and several member states mai...
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Indicative programme All times are approximate and subject to change EU-Western Balkans summit Wednesday 17 December 16:30 - Arrivals and doorsteps (EB forum open to all / live stream 1 / live stream 2) 17:30 - Official welcome (EB forum) 17:55 - Family photo (EB forum open to all) 18:00 - Plenary session (restricted photo/video pool during the roundtable) 19:30 - Press conference (E...
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The European Union congratulates José Antonio Kast upon his election as President of Chile, and the Chilean people for their participation in a peaceful and orderly electoral process. We look forward to working with President Kast and his administration, and remain committed to deepening our relationship in all areas of mutual interest. The EU and Chile enjoy a solid partnership based on common...
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Good day, everybody, Secretary General Berset, dear Alain, it is a great pleasure to be here in The Hague today. We are making very important decisions for holding Russia financially accountable for the war damages it has caused in Ukraine. The work the Council of Europe has done to set up the Claims Commission for Ukraine is vital and can make a difference. Everybody here today is on the sa...
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The press briefing ahead of the European Council meeting of 18-19 December 2025 will take place on Tuesday, 16 December 2025 at 14.30 in the Justus Lipsius building press room. It will also touch upon the upcoming EU-Western Balkans Summit taking place on 17 December 2025. This briefing will be "off the record". The press briefing will take place in a hybrid format: EU accredited journalists...
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Today, the 24th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro provisionally closed accession negotiations on chapters 3 (right of establishment and freedom to provide services), 4 (free movement of capital), 6 (company law), 11 (agriculture and rural development) and 13 (fisheries). “The EU welcomes Montenegro’s progress in closing five additional chapters today. This means that in to...
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The press briefing ahead of the European Council meeting of 18-19 December 2025 will take place on Tuesday, 16 December 2025 at 14.00 in the Justus Lipsius building press room. It will also touch upon the upcoming EU-Western Balkans Summit taking place on 17 December 2025. This briefing will be "off the record". The press briefing will take place in a hybrid format: EU accredited journalists...
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The EU condemns the recent dangerous actions by the Chinese Coast Guard - deployment of water cannons and cutting anchor lines - in the South China Sea against Philippine fishing vessels. These actions threatened the safety of life at sea, causing injury to civilians and undermined the lawful exercise of maritime rights. The European Union recalls that the United Nations Convention on the Law o...
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