Belarus

The European Union must expect a further deterioration in relations with Russia even though ties have already sunk to their "lowest level", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.

President of Serbia sent that message after Bilik stated on June 13 that the joint military exercise of Serbia with Belarus and Russia does not help Serbia's progress in European integration.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday having invited Estonia to join the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre in Bucharest. "Romania and Estonia share common visions and interests at the EU level, which facilitates close co-operation between us on the current European agenda and the European Union's priorities in the future.

The Iasi National Opera House organised lately several staffing contests, and the Ballet Department has drawn the toughest competition as over 240 dancers from 20 countries applied to join. "The toughest competition is at the Ballet Department that will hold an assessment and selection audition for in-house collaborating dancers for the 2021-2022 season.

Empty beach in the coastal town of Ulcinj, Montenegro. Photo: BIRN/Samir Kajosevic

Brussels – Slovenia will not be able to reach the NATO target of 2% of GDP in defence spending by 2024, but it must do its homework and under the current government the spending trend has been reversed, Prime Minister Janez Janša said as he arrived for a summit of NATO leaders on Monday.

Echoing the forced landing of a Ryanair flight travelling between two EU member states and the arrest of political activist Roman Protasevich in Belarus, the European Parliament has called for further sanctions on the hardline regime in Minsk.

A top American diplomat told Congress on Wednesday that the Biden administration plans to impose additional sanctions on the authoritarian regime in Belarus — a significant step as lawmakers agitate for tougher punishments against a top ally of Vladimir Putin.

Romanian film director Alexander Nanau, addressing today the 2021 LUX Audience Award ceremony in Strasbourg after winning the prize for his documentary Collective that depicts the aftermath of the October 2015 Colectiv nightclub fire that ultimately killed 64 people, said that "the award is, most of all, for the victims and the families for whom justice has still not been served in Romania five

Serbia is starting to produce Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, President Aleksandar Vucic said on June 4, the first European nation outside Russia and Belarus to take the step.