The EU Court of Justice ruled on April 10 to lift sanctions against Russian business tycoons Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, imposed in response to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"We have started preparing a 14th sanctions package, which should be adopted in spring," Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said at the "Standing with Ukraine: European Parliament's legacy for the sanctions regime" conference of the Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group in Brussels.
The European Union needs more funds to prepare for a potential full-scale conflict, as the risk of war in Europe beyond Ukraine is "no longer a fantasy," the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on April 9.
The European Council announced on April 8 that it had reached a provisional deal with European Parliament representatives to extend the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU until June 2025, but with new restrictions on agriculture products.
Czech Transportation Minister Martin Kupka said that Russia has made "thousands of attempts to weaken our (railway) systems" since the beginning of the full-scale war.
The new Portuguese government is fully in support of Ukraine's EU bid, the country's foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, said on April 4, presenting it as a shift from the "ambiguous" stance of the previous administration, Euractiv reported.
Finland's government has decided to keep the border with Russia closed "until further notice," the Finnish Interior Ministry reported on April 4.
The Czech government announced on March 27 that it had uncovered a Moscow-financed propaganda network that sought to influence European politics and turn public opinion against aiding Ukraine. Prague named Viktor Medvedchuk, a Kremlin-linked former Ukrainian oligarch, and Artem Marchevskyi, a media manager who used to work at one of
The Russian propaganda network recently uncovered by Czech intelligence paid European and Belgian lawmakers to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said in Brussels on March 28.
Kyiv will continue promoting a decision to implement a complete ban on imports of Russian grain into the European Union and has reasons to believe Hungary will not block such a move, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with European Pravda.
EU ambassadors "agreed on a new compromise" regarding the extension of the trade agreement with Ukraine, ensuring a "balanced approach between support for Ukraine and protection of EU agricultural markets," the Belgian presidency of the EU Council announced on March 27.
Lauri Hussar, the speaker of the Riigikogu, Estonia's Parliament, visited Kyiv on March 26 and met with his Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The EU has delivered 500,000 of the promised 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine and aims to deliver the total amount by the end of the year, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in his blog on March 25.
At the same time, the EU moved closer on March 21 to finalizing a plan to use 90% of the profits generated from the frozen funds to purchase weapons for Kyiv and allocate the remaining 10% to the EU budget to support Ukraine's defense industry.
European Council urged to "swiftly adopt" the negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova after the first day of the Euro Summit on March 21.
Financial Times says EU plans to impose tariffs on Belarusian and Russian grain imports, aiming to appease farmers and some member states. As Poland cuts financing for exiled Belarusian media, concern rises over the survival of independent Belarusian press. Four exiled Belarusian activists receive in absentia sentences, dozens more are
The measure would impose a 95 euro ($103) per ton on corn and wheat, as opposed to zero tariffs imposed today, Business Insider reported. Other products, namely oilseeds, would be subject to an "ad valorem duty" of 50%.
"I am confident that we can act very quickly," said European Council President Charles Michel.
President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered an address to the European Council summit on March 21, urging EU leaders to provide Ukraine with more weapons, namely ammunition and air defense systems.
EU leaders are unlikely to reach an agreement on confiscating profits from Russian assets during their summit starting on March 21, namely because Hungary is against using them to boost Ukraine's military capabilities, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported, citing an unnamed senior European diplomat.
"This is an important step for the implementation of reforms and financial stability on Ukraine's path to the EU," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on X.
"Today we also made the first payment of 4.5 billion euros under the Ukraine Facility, our 50 billion euro ($54 billion) package to support the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine," said Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat.
The European Parliament and the EU Council reached a provisional agreement to renew the temporary suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU until June 2025.
"Now that we are facing the biggest security threat since the Second World War, it is high time we take radical and concrete steps to be defense-ready and put the EU’s economy on a “war footing”," European Council President Charles Michel said
The remaining 10% would be allocated to the EU's budget to boost Ukraine's defense industry, Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels. The official said he would submit the proposal to member states on March 20.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that he and his Luxembourgish counterpart Luc Frieden would discuss Luxembourg's support for Ukraine and the potential future confiscation of Russian assets.
The European Union is planning to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to appease farmers and some member states, the Financial Times (FT) reported on March 19, citing people familiar with the plans.
Kyiv would get an estimated 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) a year to boost its defense industry and purchase weapons, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reported earlier in March that the EU was readying a new package targeting around 30 individuals in response to Alexei Navalny's death in February.
If Europe wants to exist in peace it must shift to a “war economy” mode and significantly bolster defense capabilities in the face of the threat posed by Russia, European Council President Charles Michel said on March 18.
Key developments on March 17-18: * EU gives final approval to $5.5 billion for military aid to Ukraine * Deputy minister: Russia fires 7 times more shells than Ukraine * US Senator Graham in Kyiv: 'If you want aid to Ukraine, you'd better start talking to American taxpayers' * Ukrainian government allocating $128
EU foreign ministers finally agreed to allocate an additional 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in defense assistance for Ukraine in 2024 within the European Peace Facility (EPF) framework, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on March 18.
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