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Thousands of migrants have tried to cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in recent days, Spanish authorities said on Monday (26 August). Among these migrants, hundreds of young people have attempted to swim around border controls. Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government's representative in Ceuta, told reporters on Monday (26 August) that since Thursday (22 August) an average of 700 people a day had tried to breach the border, with a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday (25 August). While Pérez did not specify how many migrants had successfully reached Ceuta, she noted that authorities were returning 150 to 200 people a day to Morocco under Spanish laws that allow for 'border rejections'. She thanked the Moroccan authorities for their "loyal cooperation".

The European naval mission Aspides in the Red Sea says the Greek oil tanker Sounion, which was attacked by Houthi rebels, does not appear to be leaking oil. The tanker is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil. If it leaked into the sea, it would cause an environmental disaster.

Croatia reintroduces a two-month military service from next year. The country is taking the measure because of heightened tensions in Europe and the Balkans following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Finland and Morocco discussed cooperation in water, renewable energy, green hydrogen, cybersecurity and telecommunications in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Tuesday (6 August).  Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen received her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, who is on a working visit to Finland. Both countries see opportunities in digitalisation, especially in cybersecurity and 5G networks.

The Council of the European Union decided on Monday (5 August) to impose restrictive measures against a further 28 individuals for their role in the ongoing internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus. These sanctions are adopted ahead of the fourth anniversary of the fraudulent presidential elections in August 2020. 

France is urging its citizens to leave Lebanon. An update on the French foreign ministry's website warns of "the risks of military escalation in the Middle East" and advises people to book another commercial flight to France "as soon as possible" while flights are still available. The ministry also reiterated its "urgent" advice against travelling to Lebanon.

The European Union has condemned several waves of large-scale attacks on several Ukrainian cities carried out by Russia on Monday (8 July). 

From 9 to 11 July, Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, will make an official visit to the Republic of Moldova to launch the EU's bilateral accession screening process with Moldova, starting with the basics. 

Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD, which stands for 'Build Your Dreams', signed a deal with Türkiye on Monday (8 July) to open a major factory in the country. The move will allow the Chinese to avoid new import tariffs from Brussels.