The Council of the European Union will hold a hearing regarding the potential loss of Hungary's voting rights at a meeting on May 27, marking the eighth hearing regarding Budapest's alleged violations of founding EU principles.
"SAFE is an advantageous, low-interest, multi-year loan guaranteed by the EU budget," the Council of the EU said.
The European Union is preparing to provide Radio Free Europe with a contract valued at 5.5 million euros ($6.2 million) in "emergency funding" to support the ongoing work of the media organization amid the Trump administration's funding cuts.
The European Union is preparing to downsize its diplomatic service – the European External Action Service (EEAS) – and redirect funds toward strategic interests such as enforcing sanctions against Russia, POLITICO reported on May 20.
After a two-hour call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia reiterated its refusal for a full ceasefire in the war in Ukraine while the U.S. once again failed to respond with any significant pressure. For observers across Europe, watching the way the negotiations
"I officially ask the Constitutional Court to annul the Romanian presidential elections for the same reasons the December elections were annulled: external interferences by state and non-state actors," George Simion wrote on X.
Prior, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) claimed that it had exposed a Hungarian espionage network in western Ukraine, detaining two agents. In response, Hungary expelled two Ukrainian diplomats, a move met with reciprocal expulsions by Kyiv.
The country's opposition party, ANO, has threatened to suspend the munitions initiative if it wins parliamentary elections in October 2025.
The new mechanism, proposed by the European Commission in March, will allow member states to borrow money from the EU to purchase weapons and military equipment.
In an anxiously watched race, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan won the presidency against the far-right candidate George Simion, who is banned from entering both Ukraine and Moldova due to his extremist views.
"There is no reason to talk about (troops) at the moment, we are far from that. We want the weapons to stop, the killing to end," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include information from Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR). Poland and Romania — key NATO allies bordering Ukraine — are holding presidential elections on May 18, with both votes unfolding under the shadow of Russian interference and rising far-right influence. The simultaneous elections are being
Ukrainian band Ziferblat took ninth place at the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final on May 17 in Basel, Switzerland. Their song "Bird of Pray" received 218 points – 60 from the jury and 158 from the audience.
"It’s more than 30 years of U.S. desire (to reduce troops in Europe), President Trump just said, enough, this is going to happen and it’s going to happen now," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said.
Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission is preparing a new sanctions package, which would include sanctions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, additional listings of vessels from Russia's shadow fleet, a lower oil price cap, and sanctions on Russia's financial sector.
The conversation took place shortly after the conclusion of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, which ended with little progress beyond an agreement on prisoner exchange.
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Albania on May 16 to attend the summit of the European Political Community, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said, according to the state news channel Freedom TV.
European and U.S. officials, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, reportedly convinced Zelensky that attending the peace talks would reflect positively on Kyiv, diplomats told the Washington Post.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
The European Union’s 17th package of sanctions against Russia, agreed on May 14, is being hailed in Brussels as a symbol of steady resolve. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the move, insisting it would "keep the pressure high on the Kremlin." But outside the EU bubble,
"Contrary to Kremlin narratives, time is not on Russia’s side," reads a new report from the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE).
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Previously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a May 2024 arson attack on the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw.
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 9, shortly before traveling to Kyiv alongside the leaders of France, Poland, and the U.K.
Editor's Note: The original version of this article said that the EU foreign ministers committed to advancing a special tribunal for the Russian war crimes. The tribunal will actually investigate Russia's crime of aggression against Ukraine. LVIV — On Europe Day, as tanks rolled through Moscow's Red Square in a show
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