President of the European Council

The EU has threatened to expand sanctions against Russia in a week unless it takes steps to alleviate tension in Ukraine.

The EU leaders have issued a joint statement demanding that Russia "immediately withdraw all its military assets and forces from Ukraine."

Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini was appointed on Saturday as the European Union’s new foreign policy chief.

European leaders also chose Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as the new President of the European Council, the current President Herman Van Rompuy announced in tweets at the EU summit in Brussels.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has been engaged in a flurry of diplomacy, Kathimerini understands, ahead of a crucial European Union leaders summit in Brussels Saturday as well as next week’s talks in Paris between Greek government officials and troika representatives.

The European Union on Aug. 11 called on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to play a conciliatory role in Turkey, a day after he won the Turkish presidency after one round of voting.
       
"We congratulate you on your election as President of the Republic of Turkey," EU council president Herman Van Rompuy and EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said in a joint statement.

Leaders of EU member states are due to pick the next European Council President and the union's top diplomat at a Brussels summit starting Wednesday.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday seized the opportunity to emphasize the importance of growth before a European audience after the overwhelming majority of the bloc’s 28 leaders backed Jean-Claude Juncker, a former prime minister of Luxembourg who has warned of the risks of excessive austerity, to be the European Commission’s next president.

The opposition to Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission President candidacy is increasingly waning, much to the disliking of UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

By Paul Taylor & Luke Baker

European Union leaders, stunned by a big Eurosceptic protest vote in European Parliament elections, agreed on Tuesday to seek a package deal of appointments to top EU jobs with an economic agenda to win back public confidence.

Georgia will sign a key association agreement with the EU on June 27, according to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

He announced the step after talks with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili in Tbilisi.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has ruled out EU military intervention to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.

Herman van Rompuy commented on the situation in Ukraine during the presentation of his latest book, "Europe in the storm-Lessons and Challenges", on Monday evening in Brussels.