News about EU

The Maritime Agency of the Republic of Moldova will get new powers to assess and manage risks of foreign vessels. This is provided for by a package of changes aimed at harmonizing national regulations with EU standards.

Greece does not agree to Ukraine’s terms on the joint use of maritime drones, products of a potential co-production. Greece is concerned that Ukraine insists on having a “say” on how these drones the Greek side of the production tandem plans to use.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a telephone conversation with Robert Fitzo that the Slovak prime minister would support Ukraine in the EU membership issue. He also said that he had invited Fitzo to Kiev, and the latter, in turn, invited him to Bratislava. Both leaders accepted the invitations.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development has developed a draft order providing for the approval of a national standard, based on the European standard, for direct remote identification of drones.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said he doubts that the project of complete substitution of Russian gas with American LNG is economically sound because it requires serious infrastructure costs.

In 2026, interest in flat nectarines is noticeably increasing both on the part of buyers and growers. According to breeding companies, the flat nectarine is rapidly moving out of the niche segment: in European market players, it already accounts for about 10% of sales of planting material. The growing interest is not only due to the unusual shape of the fruit, but also due to the improved taste, productivity and commercial attractiveness of new varieties.

Promoting alternatives to involuntary isolation and physical restraint is one of the key objectives of a new WHO Moldova event to be held in Chisinau on May 5-6 to support reform of the country’s mental health system.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu will participate in the 8th summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which will take place in Yerevan on May 4. Within the framework of the event, the head of state will particularly touch upon the issues of countering hybrid threats.

The independence of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) will be extended. It will report to the Parliament in an informative format only – without requesting or receiving any instructions. The same principle will be enshrined in relations with the government: cooperation on financial and budgetary issues will be maintained, but without interference.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Eugeniu Osmokescu said that he considers himself a “convinced federalist” in the spirit of the founders of the European Union. He believes that European integration is the only way of development for Moldova.

After more than 25 years of negotiations, a trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay began to be temporarily applied on Friday.

The eurozone economy unexpectedly slowed at the start of 2026, with soaring energy prices driven by the war in Iran threatening stagflation in the coming months. Data for the first month of fighting in the Middle East, released Thursday, do not fully capture the extent of Europe’s economic slowdown, but give a sense of the scale of the losses.

The majority of Swiss residents are inclined to support the initiative to limit the country’s population to 10 million people. This is evidenced by the results of a recent poll conducted by the Tamedia media group together with the 20 Minuten publication and the Leewas sociological institute.

Military spending by NATO’s European member states grew faster last year than at any time since 1953. They increased by 14% compared to 2024, reaching 739 billion euros.

Moldova is withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty (TCE), an international agreement dating back to the 1990s, which, according to the authorities, is no longer in line with the energy transition policy and the development of renewable energy sources. The draft was approved by Parliament in two readings at today’s session.

The launch of cooperation projects aimed at harmonizing the national agricultural sector with the European Union requirements was discussed during a meeting between the head of the MAIA Agriculture and Food Ministry, Ludmila Catlabuga, and the Italian Ambassador to Moldova, Giuseppe Maria Perricon, and the director of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Biagio Di Terlizzi.

An EU-Armenia summit will be held in Yerevan on May 4-5, where the sides will discuss deepening bilateral cooperation, regional security and key international challenges. This will be the first bilateral summit in the history of Armenia-EU relations and is expected to give a new impetus to the development of strategic partnership between the sides. Observers and international media have already described the upcoming event as “historic”.

Over 30 million euros from non-refundable European funds within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will be directed to the construction of a new border crossing point Ungheni (Moldova)-Ungheni (Iasi county, Romania).

According to Italian media, public access is provided only during the preview days – from May 5 to 8. After that, the space will be closed, and until the end of the exhibition visitors will be offered only digital documentation of the project, broadcast on screens in the windows of the building.

Israel has accused the Venice Biennale jury of politicizing art following their decision not to consider pavilions from countries facing International Criminal Court charges.