Olaf Scholz

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has said he does not expect next week's EU summit to pave the way for his country to start EU membership talks, blaming Bulgaria, Politico reported today.

"You have to understand that Serbia is in a very different position compared to many others, because of its history, because of its special ties with Russia," Rama said.
He stated that he believes that Serbia should impose sanctions in time, but warned that Belgrade, which is largely dependent on Moscow for energy supplies, should not be pressured to do too much too soon.

The long-awaited visit of Foreign Minister Analena Berbock (of the Greens) may have been canceled due to covid, but the line-up of top German politicians in Greece is no way over. On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visited Thessaloniki for a "Balkan dinner".

Britain's government on Monday proposed new legislation that would unilaterally rewrite post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, despite opposition from some U.K. lawmakers and EU officials who say the move violates international law.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Sofia that he strongly supports an agreement to start EU accession talks between the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania.

The Bulgarian veto on the start of negotiations for the membership of North Macedonia in the EU is expected to be the main topic of today's visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Bulgaria.

He arrives in Sofia from Skopje, where he told North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski this morning that the country is ready to start EU membership talks.

Scholz was welcomed at the Belgrade "Nikola Tesla" airport by the President of Serbia, Aleksander Vui, who is the host of today's meeting.

FOTO TANJUG/ ZORAN ZESTIC/ bg

After that, a welcoming ceremony followed in front of the Palace of Serbia.

FOTO TANJUG/ ZORAN ZESTIC/ bg

Media press conference is expected around 5 p.m.
Just to recall, that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive in Belgrade today, after his visit to Pristina, and will meet with the President of Serbia face to face.

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis will inform his counterparts about the Turkish crescendo of provocations in the framework of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit that will take place today in Thessaloniki, as he stated in an interview given to the Municipal Radio of Thessaloniki, FM 100.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that his government remains committed to phasing out nuclear power despite concerns about rising energy prices and possible future shortages due to Russia's war in Ukraine.