Belgium

BRUSSELS, October 12. /TASS/: The EU foreign ministers have agreed on the EU’s common stance on imposing sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in Luxembourg. A European diplomatic source informed TASS on Monday that the decision had been prompted by the Belarusian leader’s inauguration.

"The foreign ministers agreed on a common stance on adding [Belarusian] President Alexander Lukashenko to the Belarus sanctions list, given his inauguration after the election, which was not free or fair," the interlocutor said.

BRUSSELS, October 12. /TASS/: The European Council has prolonged the sanctions regime for the use of chemical weapons for one year, until October 16, 2021, the statement published by the Council on Monday informs. Some members of the EU propose to expand the sanctions list in relation to the incident with Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

"The Council today decided to extend the regime allowing the EU to impose restrictive measures on persons and entities involved in the development and use of chemical weapons by one year, until 16 October 2021," the statement reads.

(Reuters) - The European Union’s new trade chief has told the U.S. to withdraw tariffs on more than $7 billion of EU products or face additional duties on exports to Europe, as he urged a settlement to the dispute over Airbus SE and Boeing Co, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Repairing the transatlantic relationship would be EU's top priority, and the U.S. should withdraw its Airbus-related tariffs as a confidence-building measure, the EU's new trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis told on.ft.com/2GEqmap the FT.

BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — NATO insisted Thursday that its members would consult and decide together on when to leave Afghanistan, after US President Donald Trump vowed to bring American troops home by Christmas.

Trump, trailing in polls ahead of the Nov 3 presidential election, made his surprise announcement on Twitter on Wednesday, dramatically speeding up the timeline for ending America’s longest war.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Wednesday it will not send observers to Venezuela’s parliamentary elections in December, warning that President Nicolas Maduro’s decision to call them at short notice had worsened the political crisis in the country.

Like the United States, the EU wants new presidential elections to reverse Venezuela’s spiral into authoritarian rule and economic collapse. They see the parliamentary vote as a way for Maduro to seize control of the opposition-held assembly.

BRUSSELS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Tuesday published its annual enlargement package assessing the implementation of reforms in the countries aspiring to join the European Union (EU), together with a plan to hand out more economic help for these nations.

The package included country-specific reports on the progress of the six Western Balkans and Turkey, giving assessments and guidelines.

BRUSSELS, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Turkey and Greece have set up a military hotline in a bid to reduce the risk of clashes in the Mediterranean, where the two are locked in a row over energy resources and maritime borders.

The move was announced by the Nato military bloc, of which both countries are members.

Tensions rose this year when Turkey sent a research ship to a disputed area.

It comes as EU leaders met to discuss the bloc’s thorny ties with Turkey.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders asked their Brussels-based executive on Friday to name strategic areas where the bloc relies too much on countries such as China and the United States, and to propose ways to make amends.

EU leaders said their industry needed to be more competitive, autonomous and resilient after the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the bloc’s dependence on Chinese components in the production of drugs.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Friday Britain must respect the Brexit arrangements it had agreed with the European Union for the sensitive Irish border, after a fraught week with little progress towards a new UK-EU trade deal.

With just under two weeks before Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deadline for reaching a trade agreement, both sides said there were still significant hurdles to finding a way to smooth relations when a transition arrangement ends this year.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders will call on China to finalise a stalled investment agreement by the end of the year and again criticise Beijing over its security crackdown in Hong Kong, according to a draft summit statement seen by Reuters.

EU leaders, who are set to discuss their policy towards China at the two-day summit from Thursday, will also renew demands that Beijing make good on promises made in 2019 to open up Chinese markets to European companies.