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).
Slovenia is set to take a place at the UN Security Council for the second time since gaining independence from Yugoslavia, beating Russian ally Belarus in a vote at the United Nations on Tuesday (6 June).
The race between the two members from the UN's Eastern Europe bloc was the only contested election for five seats on the UNSC. In the secret ballot election in the 193-member General Assembly, Slovenia received 153 votes while Belarus got 38 votes.
Slovenia is set to take a place at the UN Security Council for the second time since gaining independence from Yugoslavia, beating Russian ally Belarus in a vote at the United Nations on Tuesday (6 June).
The race between the two members from the UN's Eastern Europe bloc was the only contested election for five seats on the UNSC. In the secret ballot election in the 193-member General Assembly, Slovenia received 153 votes while Belarus got 38 votes.
The second EU-Central Asia summit is taking place on 2-3 June in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on the northern shores of Issyk-Kul Lake. The first EU-Central Asia summit took place in Astana in October last year, while the second EU-Central Asia economic forum took place recently, on 19 May in Almaty.
The Italian government has lifted a 2019 embargo on exporting military weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The decision, taken on Wednesday (31 May) was announced in a communique at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting presided over by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and was made "in accordance with the foreign and defense policy of Italy".
Restrictions on the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia were put in place in 2019 to prevent Italian-made weaponry being used in the conflict in Yemen.
Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom have agreed to increase direct flight frequency, from to five to up to fourteen flights per week by the end of the year, reports the Kazakh Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA). This news was released after negotiations in London on 24 and 25 May.
The "importance and complexity" of the negotiations was particularly acute as the current agreement between the UK and Kazakhstan, which allowed for five direct flights per week between London and Almaty, was due to expire on 15 June.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell announced yesterday on Tuesday (23 May) that the European Union has supplied Ukraine with 220,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,300 missiles from exisiting EU stocks since 20 March.
Speaking at a press conference following the meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on defense, Borrell recalled that on 20 March the EU decided to allocate €2bn for the supply of 1 million artillery rounds for Ukraine over the next 12 months. EU member states would supply Ukraine from their own stocks, and the EU would reimburse them.