Belgium

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — European Union (EU) leaders have agreed on tougher rules aimed at making it easier to expel asylum-seekers whose refugee applications are denied, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.

The measures are a response to increasing European concern over rising irregular immigration that has become a hot-button issue in several member countries.

That problem is “a European challenge that requires a European response,” EU leaders said in a final document at the end of a 16-hour summit looking at that and other topics.

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday accused France of jeopardising EU unity on Ukraine by organising a Franco-German dinner in Paris with the Ukrainian president that excluded other European allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday evening on the eve of an EU summit, where the Ukrainian leader called for more weapons in the fight against the Russian invasion.

BRUSSELS/ROME, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday said the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, was "inappropriate".

BRUSSELS (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that “a Ukraine that is winning” should become a European Union member, arguing the bloc wouldn’t be whole without his country being an integral part of the EU.

Zelenskky made his comments during an address to the European Parliament on a rare trip outside Ukraine, which has been trying to repel a full-scale invasion by Russia for nearly a year.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is wrapping up a whirlwind tour of his major European backers, already heading home with heaps of goodwill, promises of more military aid and, as hardware goes, France’s highest medal of honor.

Zelenskyy arrived at the European Union’s legislature in Brussels on Thursday. The Ukrainian anthem was played at the protocol entrance, followed by the European anthem.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Some refugees and asylum-seekers in Brussels have been spending months in between the Street of Palaces and the Small Castle — quite literally.

Unfortunately, it’s not a dream come true at the end of their fearful flight from halfway across the globe. It’s a perpetual nightmare.

04 Feb 2023; AA: EU ambassadors agreed on a price cap Friday for Russian petroleum products, said the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU. 

"EU ambassadors today approved the price caps on petroleum products ahead of final adoption by the EU Council," it wrote on Twitter. "Important agreement as part of the continued response by EU and partners to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.”

BRUSSELS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU), together with the Group of Seven (G7), adopted on Saturday further price caps for seaborne Russian petroleum products, according to a European Commission (EC) press release.

The price cap for "premium-to-crude" petroleum products, such as diesel, kerosene and gasoline, is set at 100 U.S. dollars per barrel, while the cap for "discount-to-crude" petroleum products, such as fuel oil and naphtha, is set at 45 U.S. dollars per barrel, the EC has said.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO called Friday on Russia to respect the only treaty it has with the United States aimed at keeping a lid on nuclear weapons expansion and urged Moscow to allow on-the-ground inspections of military sites to resume.

The so-called New START Treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. in 2010. It caps at 1,550 the number of long-range nuclear warheads they can deploy and limits the use of missiles that can carry atomic weapons. It allows short-notice inspections of each other’s nuclear bases and support facilities.

BRUSSELS, February 2. /TASS/:  The EU intends to introduce the 10th package of anti-Russian sanctions before February 24 - the anniversary of the special military operation in Ukraine, AFP reported Thursday, citing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"By the 24th of February — exactly one year since the invasion started — we aim to have the 10th package of sanctions in place," she said during her visit in Kiev.