Angela Merkel

The European Council will resume the discussions on the EU enlargement before the EU-Western Balkans Summit, which will be held in May in Zagreb under the Croatian Presidency, said the government press office.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday failed to persuade France to allow a hoped-for start to accession talks for North Macedonia and Albania - and also failed to agree on a written conclusion, which, in the absence of a date for EU talks, would have sent a positive message to Skopje and Tirana about their further engagement in the process.

Talks in Brussels continued on Friday on the European Union accession prospects of North Macedonia and Albania after tense talks ended in a deadlock the previous night on objections from France, The Netherlands and Denmark, who strenuously oppos the position of the other 25 member-states to commence negotiations with the two Balkan nations.

In a major blow to the hopes of the two Balkan countries, the European Council - preoccupied with Brexit -  on Thursday failed to give Albania and North Macedonia a date to start EU membership talks.

In a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement on the matter, amid fading hope, the Council moved the issue of enlargement to Friday's last session of the council.

Solutions still need to be found for customs arrangements in Northern Ireland to clinch a Brexit deal and European Union leaders could yet meet again if they do not reach an agreement at this week's summit, Germany's Angela Merkel said on Oct. 17.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy has been growing slowly during the global financial crisis. Experts see the reasons for this in trade conflicts and geopolitical risks.

The German government has decided to allow Chinese technology giant Huawei to supply components for the entire German 5G network, business daily Handelsblatt reported today, citing informed sources.

The decision, taken after months of debate, is expected to be announced in the coming days.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the US decision to withdraw from Syria. He noted that there was a discrepancy between the positions expressed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and those of some Member States regarding Ankara's actions.

Erdogan told reporters that Turkey was ready to implement its decision regarding Manbij. 

The UK has so far not seen a compromise on the part of the European Union in the Brexit talks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today, urging the community to be flexible in order to reach an exit agreement, Reuters reported.

European Council President Donald Tusk has accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of playing with Europe's future, AFP reports. Tusk called on Britain to say what it wants to do with Brexit, DPA reported.