Viktor Orban

BUDAPEST - No other region in Europe wants to join the EU more than the Western Balkans does, but it also expects "requited love" from the EU, Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Thursday after attending the Budapest Balkans Forum.

Speaking to reporters, Dacic thanked Hungary for supporting EU enlargement as well as Serbia's accession to the bloc.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) meeting in Budapest, Hungary, 7 November 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/ZSOLT SZIGETVARY HUNGARY OUT

The report, which is also the 50th anniversary edition, registered the 17th consecutive year of falls in global freedom but remained hopeful for the coming years.

Meanwhile, Polish Minister for European Affairs Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek announced this week that Poland, together with the European Commission, will launch an initiative to find Ukrainian children reportedly kidnapped by Russia since the war started.



Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in "fast-track" talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday.

Hungary will veto European Union sanctions against Russia affecting nuclear power, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday, Reuters reported.

Ukraine has called on the EU to include Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom in the sanctions, but Hungary, home to a Russian-built nuclear power plant that it plans to expand with Rosatom's help, has blocked that.

BUDAPEST - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday in Budapest Hungary would vote against admissions of the so-called Kosovo to European organisations such as the Council of Europe and the EU.

Türkiye, which has for months blocked NATO membership bids by Sweden and Finland, has made some demands that Sweden cannot accept, Sweden's prime minister said on Jan. 8. 

Koper – Italian senators Debora Serracchiani and Tatjana Rojc, both members of the Democratic Party (PD), met representatives of the Italian community in Slovenia on Monday. The minority’s representatives said they would like Italy to support their efforts for their constitutional rights. The officials agreed minorities should have MP seats guaranteed.

Czechia's centre-right government has agreed a "neutral stance' on a controversial bill to enshrine marriage as between a man and a woman in the constitution, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Wednesday. The legislation was proposed in response to the 'threat' posed by the recent submission of a parliamentary bill to legalise gay marriage.