Council of the European Union

The European Parliament approved the reform of the EU electricity market aimed at reducing the dependence of electricity prices on fossil fuel prices, accelerating the introduction of renewable energy sources and protecting consumers from price spikes.

The European Parliament refuses to "release" the budget of the EU Council until a decision is made to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missile defense systems.

The EU has agreed to extend the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU until June 5, 2025, while strengthening safeguards for sensitive agricultural products such as poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, corn, cereals, and honey.

Ukraine and Poland agree on five steps to unblock the border, including restrictions on exports of Ukrainian agricultural products, an EU review of agricultural policy and transport, a ban on exports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products to the EU, the creation of an anti-crisis headquarters, and permission to transit fuel across the border.

The EU law on critical raw materials is aimed at diversifying sources of supply of critical raw materials, not at confronting China, according to a European official.

Ukraine will lose millions in potential profits due to new EU restrictions on duty-free imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, which take into account the reduced imports from the second half of 2021.

EU ambassadors will again try to approve the extension of the duty-free trade agreement with Ukraine with a compromise proposal to increase restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to balance support for Ukraine and protection of EU farmers.

Russian propaganda channels are spreading fake information about the alleged deportation of more than 813,000 Ukrainians from the EU due to mass protests, but this claim is not true, and the screenshot used to confirm it is fabricated.

During a meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solsky debunked negative myths that the Ukrainian agricultural sector has no economic basis, emphasizing Ukraine's ability to withstand and win the war with Russia.

The European Business Association notes that the situation with the blocking of tax invoices by the State Tax Service has worsened since the end of February. The EBA suggests that instead of freezing business activities, the State Tax Service should conduct tax audits in case of questions about the activities of companies.

The Belgian presidency of the EU Council is working to find a compromise framework for renewing autonomous trade measures for Ukraine, with Italy proposing to extend the protection provisions until 2021 but exclude wheat, reducing the benefits for Ukraine from the original €2 billion to €1. 54 billion.

The European Commission proposes to raise tariffs on imports of grains, oilseeds and processed products from Russia and Belarus to the EU to prevent market destabilization, combat exports of misappropriated Ukrainian grain and deprive Russia of revenues it uses to finance its war against Ukraine.

EU ambassadors failed to approve the extension of trade liberalization measures for Ukraine on the eve of the summit of the bloc's leaders, due to concerns of some countries about the impact on their agricultural markets, and will discuss the issue at their next meeting next week.

During her visit to Ukraine, U. S. Senator Lindsey Graham met with Ukrainian parliamentarians to discuss Ukraine's efforts toward European integration.

The EU Council has decided to allocate an additional 5 billion euros for military support to Ukraine under the European Peace Fund, the Foreign Ministry reports.

The EU is considering approving a €5 billion fund to help Ukraine and using the excess profits from frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's defense, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said.

Ukraine expects to start accession negotiations with the EU in the first half of 2024 after the European Council approves the negotiation framework.

Next week, Ukraine will receive €4. 5 billion from the EU as part of a €50 billion aid package for 2024-2027.

According to the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, Ukraine expects to receive more than $10 billion in international aid from its partners in March-April.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution proposing to consider Armenia's membership in the European Union if it continues to implement sustainable reforms aimed at strengthening democracy.

The European Union has removed from the sanctions list arkady volozh, the founder of yandex, sergey mndoyants, one of the representatives of the company that owns MTS, and josef gambalek, the head of the European branch of the pro-putin biker club.

The EU has extended individual sanctions against Russians responsible for undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity for another six months until September 15, 2024, while maintaining restrictions on more than 2,100 individuals and entities supporting Russia's military aggression in Ukraine.

The European Commission has recommended starting EU accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, citing the country's progress in reforms, improving the judiciary, fighting corruption, and alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The European Commission has submitted to the EU Council proposals for a draft negotiation framework for the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU, which sets out the guidelines and principles for accession negotiations with the two candidate countries.

According to European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission is expected to soon propose how to use the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. The proposals are likely to appear before the March EU summit, according to a senior EU official.

The European Union has agreed on changes to cybersecurity laws to strengthen protection against hacker attacks and to create a cybersecurity alert system and emergency response mechanism across the EU.

Estonia, France and Poland are calling on the European Commission to increase funding for the defense industry to speed up joint procurement and production of military equipment across Europe.

The EU Council has reached a political agreement to recommend further coordinated reductions in gas demand among member states to prepare for potential supply disruptions in the winter.

In March, the European Commission will present to the EU Council a framework for negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership.

Turkish exports to Russia dropped by 33% in February 2024 amid sanctions imposed by the US and EU on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.