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Stories in this section cover the EU-27 countries plus the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and the Balkan Countries (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia).

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Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

The Netherlands is set to elect its youngest ever prime minister after the far-right party of Geert Wilders was projected to suffer losses in an election he brought about by bringing down the government. Rob Jetten, the 38-year-old leader of the pro-European centrist D66 party, is on course to claim the top job with most votes counted. His party is projected to win 27 of the 150 seats in the country's lower house of parliament, beating Mr Wilder's Freedom Party on 25, according to an exit poll by Ipsos. It comes just two years after he led his party to victory in the last election, winning 37 seats, although his coalition partners refused to endorse him as prime minister. Mr Jetten will also need to rely on a coalition himself, with 76 seats needed for a majority. At least four parties will be required for him to get there.
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Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Turkey is negotiating with Qatar and Oman to acquire used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities. Following a three-day tour of Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman last week in which he oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector, President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey aims to purchase dozens of Eurofighters and other advanced jets as a stopgap measure to strengthen its fleet until its domestically developed fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet becomes operational.

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Editor's choice
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Pashinyan and Aliyev to meet in Brussels on 14 May and in Chisinau on 1 June

Pashinyan and Aliyev to meet in Brussels on 14 May and in Chisinau on 1 June

The European Union has officially confirmed that the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will meet in Brussels on Sunday (14 May). The official announcement comes after a claim made in the Financial Times yesterday (8 May) about the two leaders meeting in the Belgian capital this weekend. In a statement, the EU said "President Michel has continued to be in close contact with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to advance the EU’s efforts to promote stability in the South Caucasus and normalisation between the two countries," before announcing the trilateral meeting in Brussels this weekend. The statement adds that this meeting in Brussels will be "flanked" by a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the upcoming European Political Community summit in Chisinau, Moldova, on 1 June 2023. In addition to this, the EU also said that Pashinyan and Aliyev have "agreed to continue to meet trilaterally in Brussels as frequently as necessary to address ongoing developments on the ground and standing agenda items of the Brussels meetings".
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Zelensky visits the international city of peace and justice

Zelensky visits the international city of peace and justice

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is paying a visit to the international city of peace and justice on Thursday (4 May). President Zelensky is understood to have arrived in The Hague, The Netherlands, at 7am on Thursday after having met with the leaders of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland in Helsinki the day before. Zelensky's first engagement on Thursday was to give a speech to the first and second chambers of the Dutch parliament. The Dutch public broadcaster NOS reports that some 75 MPs were present for the speech in which Zelensky thanked The Netherlands for its support for Ukraine, and noted that he found it special that his visit coincides with the Dutch national Remembrance of the Dead day. The Netherlands' Nationale Dodenherdenking commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the beginning of the Second World War. Zelensky also visited the International Criminal Court, and gave a speech on "No Peace without Justice for Ukraine".
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Opinion
Opinion: The Armenian government needs to communicate better to the public what the EUMA is about

Opinion: The Armenian government needs to communicate better to the public what the EUMA is about

Efficient strategic communication has become necessary in the South Caucasus as the governments of the region and outside regional and global powers vie for influence in the current highly complex geo-political realities. In this op-ed for commonspace.eu Benyamin Poghosyan argues that one for the priorities for the Armenian government is to explain clearly to public opinion what the recently deployed EU Monitoring Mission is and is not about. Otherwise the same disappointment that emerged towards Russia earlier will surely appear as regards the European Union also.
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Garibashvili and Michel discuss Georgia EU accession in Brussels

Garibashvili and Michel discuss Georgia EU accession in Brussels

The Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili and the President of the European Council Charles Michel met in Brussels on Tuesday (25 April) to review Georgia's progress towards membership of the EU. According to a press release from the Georgian government, "Irakli Garibashvili briefed the President of the European Council about Georgia’s efforts toward fulfilling the European Commission’s 12 priorities and pointed out that, in this process, the authorities maintain continuous consultations with EU institutions and member states, also the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR." Garibashvili also stressed the importance of granting Georgia candidate status by the end of the year because "a large portion of the recommendations has been fulfilled". The Georgian Prime Minister also argued that EU-Georgia Association Agreement, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU, visa-free travel, and the recently granted European perspective "demonstrate Georgia’s progress toward European integration".