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.
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have announced a funding package worth €18bn to boost investments in climate action and sustainable economies, the European External Action Service (EEAS) reports.
In a press release, EEAS say that, "this will boost investment in Global Gateway's priority areas – climate action, clean energy and connectivity – in Europe's partner countries around the world. In particular, these projects will aim to help bridge the global climate finance gap and support prevention, adaptation and mitigation."
The European Union and Kazakhstan have begun talks on how to prevent the re-export of sanctioned good to Russia, said International Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions David O’Sullivan at a press conference during his visit to the Kazakh capital of Astana on 24 April.
The European Union has announced the establishment of a civilian mission in Moldova in a press release on Monday (24 April) after European Council ministers reached an agreement.
The EU writes that the objective of this civilian mission is "to enhance the resilience of the security sector of the country in the areas of crisis management and hybrid threats, including cybersecurity, and countering foreign information manipulation and interference".