Overview
- Denmark’s Minister for European Affairs, Marie Bjerre, vowed to use the six-month Council presidency to exert “maximum pressure” on Hungary to lift its veto and allow Ukraine to open all six negotiation clusters.
- Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said Ukraine is ready to open all six accession clusters by year-end, with the only hurdle being unanimous approval from the 27 EU member states.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Aarhus to meet Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss accelerated EU membership talks, joint defense production, and new sanctions on Russia.
- European Council President António Costa confirmed that EU member states have committed an additional €24 billion in military support for Ukraine this year, with contributions counting toward NATO spending targets.
- Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov urged Brussels to advance Moldova’s accession negotiations ahead of its September elections to counter Russian disinformation, even as EU officials insist its track cannot be decoupled from Ukraine’s.