The President of the European Council, António Costa, will continue his round of visits to EU member states to meet national leaders. During the "Tour des Capitales", President Costa will engage with the Heads of State or Government on the EU's agenda - with a strong focus on the Union's next long-term budget - and will prepare the ground for upcoming European Council meetings and international...
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Dear Prime Minister, dear Andrej. First of all, thank you very much for your warm and very constructive meeting today and for welcoming me to the beautiful city of Prague, as this wonderful backdrop shows. It is essential for me to engage with all the leaders in their home countries, because in our Union, every voice, every national position, matters. We are reaching a decisive moment in the ne...
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Dear Prime Minister, dear Andris. First of all, thank you very much here today in Riga and the very fruitful conversations that we had. Listening to every leader in their home country, every year, and hearing your views directly is very important for me as I prepare our work in the upcoming European Council meetings. Our Union is a union of nations, and unity among the 27 member states can only be...
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Thank you, President Nausėda, dear Gitanas, for your warm welcome here in Vilnius. It is a pleasure to be here on the second day of my tour of European capitals. I truly appreciate the opportunity to hear from you directly and in person ahead of a busy autumn. It is very important for me to engage directly with all the European leaders to properly prepare the upcoming meetings of the European ...
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Prime Minister, dear Kristen, Thank you very much, it is a great pleasure for me to meet with you once again here in Tallin. It is very important for me to engage directly with all European leaders to properly prepare the upcoming meetings of the European Council. This year my trip to Tallin follows my visit to Kyiv, marking my fifth journey to Ukraine since I took office. I understand, dea...
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The European Union takes note of the preliminary results of parliamentary elections held on 23 August 2026 in Kazakhstan. In the past few months, Kazakhstan has undergone a major reform of its political system, with the adoption of a new Constitution by referendum in March 2026 and the introduction of a unicameral Parliament (Kurultai). The EU acknowledges the efforts made by the Kazakh auth...
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The recent decision of the Lukashenka regime to designate the websites and social media of EUvsDisinfo, of the EU-supported SALT and “Education for Belarusians” programmes, and of Lithuania’s Central Project Management Agency (CPVA) as “extremist information sources” is yet another example of the regime’s systematic efforts to suppress critical thinking, restrict fundamental freedoms and shrink ci...
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First of all, congratulations on this 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day. It's a very important moment in your history, in our common history. And in fact, this war is about your independence, your sovereignty, your territorial integrity. That means the respect of international law. And we can count on the European Union. I'm very honoured to receive the Order of Europe, that I acce...
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Dear Volodymyr, dear people of Ukraine, I am honoured to be here today, on Sofiiska Square in Kyiv, to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day. August 24 marks the moment when Ukraine joined the free nations of Europe. It is a crucial date in Ukraine’s long struggle for freedom and independence. It is also a day to pay tribute to all those who are standing strong in defending their homeland on the...
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The President of the European Council, António Costa, will visit EU leaders in their capitals in the next weeks. This annual “Tour des Capitales” will allow President Costa to gather views from the heads of state or government, with a particular focus on the EU’s next long-term budget. As it was the case last year, the exchanges will help prepare the ground for the upcoming European Councils and i...
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