European Union

The Greek ambassador left the inauguration of North Macedonia's new president in protest after she referred to the country as simply "Macedonia" during the oath of office, violating an agreement between the two countries.

Kuleba discussed with the new Portuguese Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, the implementation of Ukraine's "peace formula" and the bilateral agenda, including Portugal's support for Ukraine's EU membership application.

Thousands of opponents of the law on "foreign agents" in Georgia will spend the night of May 12-13 outside the parliament building ahead of a vote on the controversial bill scheduled for May 14.

Students at Tbilisi State University have been on strike, boycotting classes since May 13 to protest the draft law on "foreign agents" and demand its withdrawal.

Today in Tbilisi, Georgia, a large-scale pro-European protest demanding the withdrawal of the controversial law on "foreign agents" will take place, with participants marching to European Square.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the EU could increase its aid to Ukraine, including more equipment, and warned that if Russia goes too far, the Europeans should be ready to act.

Poland begins work to further strengthen its entire eastern border.

According to the State Border Guard Service, passenger traffic on Ukraine's western border has remained roughly flat recently, with a slight increase in the number of people traveling abroad than returning to Ukraine.

The European Union plans to provide Ukraine with broad security commitments, including political, military, economic, and reconstruction assistance, by early July, but excluding direct EU military involvement in combat operations against Russia.

Due to damage to energy infrastructure and shelling, Ukraine received emergency electricity supplies from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, and more than 1,000 consumers in Kharkiv region were cut off from gas supply.

Ukraine is working on the logistics to deploy new U. S. military assistance, including artillery, anti-tank weapons, air defense equipment and systems, to the frontline as soon as possible.

European intelligence agencies are warning of Russian plans for large-scale sabotage across the continent, including explosions, arson and attacks on infrastructure that could lead to civilian casualties, as a new threat emerges involving locals recruited online to attack Western targets.

Georgia's foreign minister criticized the resignation of the country's ambassador to France over the controversial law on "foreign agents," calling it an insult to Georgia and its diplomats.

Iryna Kobeleva, a 16-year-old girl from Mariupol, won 5 medals, including 4 gold and 1 silver, at the European Wushu Championships in Stockholm.

Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili refused to meet with the EU delegation, which arrived amid protests against the controversial law on "foreign agents," saying their visit could encourage radical opposition actions.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft law to bring Ukrainian excise legislation in line with EU norms, including the definition of "intermediate products", raising excise tax rates on such products and fuel to the EU minimum level by 2028, and clarifying the term "weighted average retail price of cigarettes".

Ukraine and Belgium have begun negotiations on a security cooperation agreement, following President Zelenskyy's order and his recent conversation with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo.

Ukraine will insist on full territorial integration without any restrictions in the EU membership agreement, citing the precedent of Cyprus and demanding guarantees of inclusion of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a decision allowing two Ukrainian banks to attract up to EUR 30 million from the European Investment Bank to support Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses by improving preferential lending conditions.

The Cabinet of Ministers will allocate UAH 7. 1 billion to purchase equipment to restore Ukraine's high-voltage power grid and better synchronize it with the EU grid.

The Ministry of Economy wants to attract assistance with financing teams of experts to help businesses and municipalities with applications for investment projects under the Ukraine Facility.

Japan, South Korea, and Australia are tightening regulations to limit the market power of large tech groups such as Apple and Google, creating new regulatory challenges similar to those in the EU and the US.

Ukraine has fulfilled all of its commitments to the EU membership negotiations, and a decision on the approval of the framework for negotiations is expected to be reached by consensus among EU leaders after the European Parliament elections in late June, as agreed, with all necessary documents ready by the end of May.

Ukraine is experiencing significant electricity shortages for most of the day due to widespread damage to power plants, necessitating emergency imports from neighboring countries and limiting consumption for industry from 6:00 p. m. to 7:00 a.m., with potential emergency blackouts if consumption increases.

Ukrainian gymnast Maria Vysocanska carried the Olympic torch on the first day of the relay in France to honor the memory of her father, who took part in the battle for Donetsk airport in 2014.

President Zelenskyy discussed preparations for the Global Peace Summit with European Commission President von der Leyen, who confirmed her participation.

Violent attacks and intimidation tactics were used against opposition activists and NGOs protesting Georgia's controversial law on "foreign agents.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine expects the negotiation framework to be approved and the actual start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union in June, marking the next stage of rapprochement with the EU.

On Victory Day, Estonians put up a poster on the border with Russia that read "Putin is a war criminal" to remind Russia of its "destructive work" in Ukraine.

Oleg Kiper discussed important wartime topics with international leaders at the second International Cities and Regions Summit and signed cooperation agreements with Romanian and Moldovan partners.