European Council

Polish pro-EU government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk won a confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, marking an end to eight years of rule by right-wing populists.

BRUSSELS - EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said the EU General Affairs Council had adopted conclusions on Serbia on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a press briefing in Brussels.

When asked by Tanjug if the body had discussed Serbia and whether he expected the conclusions to be adopted by the European Council, he said the answer was very clear.

As he said, this will be the priority of the government, because it is in the interest of the free world.
Tusk said that it is painful for him to hear how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has to continue trying to convince world leaders of the need to continue supporting Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression, AP reported.

A recent EU survey by YouGov and Datapraxis conducted across six member states highlights contrasting opinions on potential expansions. Support for Ukraine's accession emerges, but skepticism looms over Turkey and the Western Balkans. The findings impact upcoming decisions at the European Council summit regarding EU enlargement and budget allocation.

The Survey's Key Insights:

There is currently no mention of Albania as a European Union candidate country in the Enlargement chapter of the latest draft of the forthcoming European Council, which starts Thursday.

In a joint letter to the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrel, the top diplomats of Italy, France and Germany have called on the union to impose ad hoc sanctions against Hamas and its supporters, The Guardian has reported.

Expectations for Poland's pro-EU government which is due to take power next week are sky-high but current ruling nationalists will still be a powerful and influential opposition, analysts say.

Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis had a telephone conversation with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos on Saturday to brief him on the results of the Greece-Turkey High Council of Cooperation that took place in Athens on Thursday.

The two foreign ministers also discussed agenda items to be discussed at the upcoming councils to be held in Brussels.

The Eurogroup welcomed on Thursday the fact that the draft budgetary plans of Greece and another six countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Spain, Ireland, Lithuania and Slovenia) are in line with the fiscal recommendations of the European Council based on the Commission assessment.

BUDAPEST - If the European Council includes the Brussels and Ohrid agreements in Serbia's EU accession talks, which Serbia opposes, Belgrade can always count on Hungary, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban told Tanjug in an interview.