Prime Minister, Dear people of North Macedonia, thank you for the warm welcome here. It is my first time in North Macedonia. It is good to be in Skopje. We just had a meeting on a broad range of topics. The European Union stands firmly with North Macedonia on your path to the European Union. North Macedonia is the first beneficiary in the region of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans....
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Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. It is really a pleasure to be here in Belgrade. Of course, we have had very intensive programs, so very intense discussions. During my visit, I met with President Vucic. I met with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament, opposition representatives, civil society and also the representatives of the youth. As expected, the views are very d...
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Good afternoon. First, apologies for the delay as we were stuck at the airport, but we are here now, and it is my pleasure to be here. It is my first time in Kosovo, so I look forward to the meeting with the caretaker Prime Minister Kurti. I also have a meeting with the leaders of the main political parties and representatives of civil society. The Western Balkans is of strategic impor...
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The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the regulation on compulsory licensing for crisis management purposes. A Union compulsory licence is a crisis tool which provides for the use of an intellectual property right (i.e. a patent) without the authorisation of the rights holder to ensure the availability of critical products in the internal market. The provisi...
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Good afternoon. Today we had a broad and very engaging meeting, and I want to thank the Minister for his support to co-chair. Also on our side: it was a true Team Europe spirit, as there were several Ministers co-chairing this meeting. The partnership of the African Union and the European Union over the past 25 years has delivered concrete results. The presence here in Brussels of over 70 de...
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Today, 21 May, together with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, the EU signed a Joint Statement on strengthening European Economic Area (EEA) Foreign and Security Policy Coordination. It is an expression of the strong ties and shared interests and values in an ever-changing geopolitical context. The EU and the EEA EFTA States are strengthening their relationship, notably on foreign and security co...
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The President of the European Council, António Costa, will travel to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire to receive the UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize on 22 May 2025. In the margins of the ceremony, he will also meet the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, to discuss bilateral relations, regional stability and preparations for the upcoming EU-African Union summit later this year. “It is a g...
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On May 21-23, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP), Kaja Kallas, will travel to Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia on her second visit to the Western Balkans. In Serbia, High Representative Kallas will meet with President Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister Đuro Macut , with Foreign Minister Marko Djurić and European I...
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Good evening, everybody, We had a very intense day. First, we started with the Foreign Affairs Council on Defence and then we had the Foreign Ministers when we [discussed] a wide range of topics. So, four points. First, the first discussion on Ukraine. Our top priority remains a full and unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine agreed to it over 60 days ago already, but instead of seeking peace R...
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Good morning, everybody. We are going to have a very intense day. First, we have the Foreign Affairs Council for Defence, where we are going to discuss the implementation of the White Paper. Then we will have the Foreign Affairs Council where we have [as] topics: Ukraine, Syria and the Middle East. First on Ukraine. I think it is important, as we have all said, 27 of us, that there has to be...
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