Similar to their Polish colleagues, Slovakian lorry drivers have begun blocking a border crossing with Ukraine in protest at competition from their Ukrainian counterparts. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the negotiations for a trade deal between Mercosur and the EU could fail. Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon expressed her support for North Macedonia’s EU accession.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited BiH as part of a four-day tour of the Western Balkans to discuss EU enlargement. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner questions Germany’s ability to phase out coal as an energy source by 2030. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković hopes his country would join the OECD in 2026.
Charles Michel and Josep Borrell have made contact with leaders in the Middle East following a flare-up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Commissioner Janez Lenarčič visited Armenia to assess the situation of displaced Armenians after their exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh. At an informal meeting of EU leaders in Granada, Hungary and Poland vetoed the agreement on new migration rules.
European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius criticised Slovenia’s voluntary measures to meet EU Natura 2000 targets. Thousands of Armenians demonstrated in Brussels on Sunday following the Azerbaijani military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Croatia supports Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entry into the EU and NATO.
European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi has announced a new plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans. Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel will travel to Washington to discuss issues including import tariffs, climate change and Russia’s war on Ukraine. The European Commission says there have been fewer illegal crossings at the Austrian-Slovenian border.