Ursula Von Der Leyen

EU countries and lawmakers reached an agreement yesterday on an overhaul of the bloc's laws on handling asylum-seekers and migrants, officials said.

Kenya and the European Union yesterday signed a long-negotiated trade agreement to increase the flow of goods between the two markets, President William Ruto said, as Brussels pursues stronger economic ties with Africa.

Following the Brussels summit, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, affirmed that the Commission won't yield to Hungary's demands and will explore alternatives should an agreement on the budget fail to materialize. Orban's opposition regarding the EU's budget remains a sticking point, particularly concerning a €50 billion allocation for Ukraine.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov dispelled rumors regarding specific discussions between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession during the European leaders' meeting.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday urged the bloc's 27 leaders to back massive financial aid for Ukraine and Kyiv's ambitions for membership talks, ahead of a crunch summit.

"We must give Ukraine what it needs to be strong today. So it can be stronger tomorrow at the table when it is negotiating a long lasting and just peace," the European Commission president told MEPs.

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

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the EU and China must address "imbalances and differences" between them.

"China is the EU's most important trading partner," von der Leyen said at the start of the Beijing summit, "but there are clear imbalances and differences that we need to overcome."

European leaders met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday for talks dominated by divisions between the bloc and its largest economic partner over everything from trade to the war in Ukraine.

China said Wednesday European Union export policies towards Beijing do not "make sense", on the eve of a high-level summit in the Chinese capital.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Tuesday, ahead of an annual EU-China summit, that Europe won't tolerate its soaring trade imbalance with China forever.

While the president of the European Commission stressed that EU states would prefer negotiations to a trade war she left an implied threat of protectionist measures on the table.