European Council

The Netherlands has granted approval for Bulgaria's inclusion in the Schengen area, as per a report by "Reuters." Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, speaking after the European Council meeting in Brussels, anticipated positive news, highlighting the crucial decision made by the Dutch government.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently made headlines by asserting Hungary's potential to intervene in Ukraine's EU accession process, should the need arise. Orban referred to the EU's decision as merely a symbolic gesture, implying that Hungary retains the power to halt Ukraine's progress into the EU.

UPDATE: The Dutch justice ministry just announced that they have given their approval for Bulgaria to join the Schengen area, marking the end of the Netherlands' prolonged resistance to this decision.

Day 660 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

"The European Union is ready to conclude the initial phase of the accession negotiations for North Macedonia as soon as the country fulfills its commitment to accept the constitutional amendments," stated the adopted conclusions on enlargement, Ukraine and reforms from the EU summit.

The European Council calls on North Macedonia to accelerate the completion of these changes.

The European Union needs to commit more resources to controlling migration and tackling the impact of climate change, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in doorstep comments as he arrived for an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Hungary has sent an official message to Bulgaria that if the country does not remove the fee for the transfer of Russian gas, Budapest will impose a veto on Bulgaria's accession to Schengen. This was explained by Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov in response to a question about the reason for the decision of the Bulgarian authorities to postpone the fee.

The Netherlands is on the brink of deciding Bulgaria's fate regarding Schengen membership, as Prime Minister Mark Rutte indicated during his arrival in Brussels today. Rutte, set to participate in the "EU-Western Balkans" summit and the European Council, emphasized that a verdict on Bulgaria's Schengen accession is imminent.

Poland's president on Wednesday swore in Donald Tusk as the new pro-EU prime minister, putting an end to eight years of right-wing populist rule.

The ministers of the new administration were successively sworn in by the conservative head of state, who is allied with the previous government of the Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Day 658 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours: