Belgium

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) - NATO will massively boost the number of troops on high readiness to over 300,000, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, with allies set to adopt a new strategy describing Moscow as a direct threat four months into the Ukraine war.

"Russia has walked away from the partnership and the dialogue that NATO has tried to establish with Russia for many years," Stoltenberg said in Brussels ahead of a NATO summit later this week in Madrid.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that the military alliance will increase the size of its rapid reaction forces nearly eightfold to 300,000 troops as part of its response to an “era of strategic competition.”

The NATO response force currently has about 40,000 soldiers which can deploy quickly when needed.

Coupled with other measures including the deployment of forces to defend specific allies, Stoltenberg said the move is part of the “biggest overhaul of collective defense and deterrence since the Cold War.”

26 June 2022; MEMO: The top diplomats of Iran and the European Union on Saturday expressed readiness to resume stalled nuclear talks in Vienna, signaling an end to a three-month deadlock, Anadolu Agency reports.

Addressing a joint presser following their talks in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the eighth round of talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear accord will resume in "coming days."

BRUSSELS, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Friday announced plans to issue 50 billion euros (52.8 billion U.S. dollars) of EU-Bonds to finance the NextGenerationEU recovery program between July and December.

The funds for the temporary recovery instrument were aimed at supporting member states' economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and helping build a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe.

To finance NextGenerationEU, the European Commission aims to raise around 800 billion euros from capital markets between mid-2021 and the end of 2026.

BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - The European Union should stop adding sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and instead push for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations, a senior aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a summit of EU leaders which granted Ukraine the status of a candidate to become a member of the EU, the aide said the more sanctions the EU adopted the more they hurt the bloc, while Russia survived.

BRUSSELS, June 24 (Reuters) - EU leaders on Friday warned that "cheap energy is gone" and agreed to boost preparations for further cuts in Russian gas, accusing Moscow of "weaponising" energy via a supply squeeze which Germany warned could partly shut its industry.

A day after celebrations over setting Kyiv on the road to membership of the bloc, Friday's summit in Brussels was a sober reflection on the economic impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with growing worries over soaring prices and warnings of a "tough winter".

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders agreed Friday that Croatia will join the group of countries using the euro, bringing the number of nations sharing the currency to 20 starting in January.

“The euro is the monetary expression of our shared destiny and has been part of our European dream,” said EU Council President Charles Michel, who chaired a summit of bloc leaders in Brussels. “Now, the dream comes true for Croatia.”

BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - A summit of European Union and Balkan leaders failed on Thursday to break a deadlock over a stalled EU membership bid by North Macedonia and Albania, even as Ukraine was set to become an official candidate for membership.

Separate from the Ukraine decision later on Thursday, the leaders of the six Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia expressed disillusion that negotiations have not started or are stalled, years after being promised eventual EU membership.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Thursday are set to grant Ukraine candidate status to join the 27-nation bloc, a first step in a long and unpredictable journey toward full membership that could take many years to achieve.

Making the war-torn country a contender now seems to be a done deal after leaders were initially divided on how fast they could move to embrace the war-torn country’s bid that was launched only a few days after Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.

BRUSSELS, June 21 (Reuters) - Ukraine is set to become an official candidate for European Union membership on Thursday in a symbolic but morale-boosting decision following Russia's invasion, ministers and diplomats said on Tuesday.

EU leaders in Brussels are expected to sign off on last week's recommendation by the European Commission, the EU executive. After several days of internal EU discussions no opposition among the 27 member states has surfaced, three diplomats told Reuters.