EU Council grants full Schengen membership to Bulgaria, Romania from January 1 The #EU Council agreed to fully integrate #Bulgaria and #Romania in the #Schengen Area from January 1, 18 years after they joined the bloc. "EU member states have decided to remove checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025," the council said in a statement. In March, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area partially, as passport control was lifted at air and sea borders. The final approval for the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen must be given by EU leaders at an EU summit taking place from December 19-20 in Brussels, but this is a mere formality, as interior and justice ministers endorsed this decision in the EU Council at the direction of country leaders. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007, but their admission to Schengen was postponed pending resolution of some issues in such areas as the fight against corruption. However, the process dragged on and was paused after the start of the EU immigration crisis in 2015. The Schengen Area was created in 1985 by #Belgium, #France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. Its borders do not coincide with the borders of the European Union, although each group now includes 27 countries. Non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are Schengen members. But EU members Ireland and Cyprus do not have Schengen membership, while Bulgaria and Romania will only fully join in January.

Ramstein group meeting likely to take place in Brussels on October 17 Another meeting of the #Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein group) is likely to be held on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers’ meeting at the bloc’s headquarters on October 17, a source in #Brussels reported. He confirmed that the group’s summit, initially set to take place in Germany on October 12, has been postponed due to changes in US President Joe Biden’s plans. "The #Ramstein summit has been postponed due to the changes in plans of some participants. The possibility to hold consultations at the working level is currently under consideration," the diplomat pointed out. "They are most likely to be held on the sidelines of the [NATO] ministerial meeting on October 17," he added. However, the diplomat added that the summit "remains on the agenda" because "the US has to officially hand the authority to coordinate" weapons supplies to #Kiev over to NATO. #NATO has not yet officially commented on the situation. On October 8, Joe Biden decided to postpone his visit to Germany and Angola, set for October 10-15, due to a major hurricane speeding towards Florida.

EU countries unable to come to terms on further weapons supplies to Ukraine Leaders of European countries meeting at a Brussels summit cannot agree on the terms for further financing of arms supplies to Ukraine, the European edition of Politico said in an article. According to Politico, the only consensus that has been reached among the EU heads of state and government on Thursday, namely instructing the European Investment Bank (EIB) to adapt its lending policies for the needs of the defense industry, is evidence that the bloc’s members are unable to come to terms. "Let's be honest: Nothing real is decided on financing defense," a European official told Politico. The authoritative publication notes that the bloc’s countries are divided in their opinions on some profoundly important measures, in particular support for European financing of weapons supplies to Ukraine via joint defense obligations. Poland, France and Estonia favor the release of Eurobonds, while Austria, Germany and the Netherlands oppose it. According to some European diplomats, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated their disagreement with this proposal during the summit. A regular two-day EU summit in Brussels kicked off on Thursday. Within this event, the EU leaders intend to discuss the urgent and intense need for additional military support for Kiev. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, following the meeting, said that the EU did not decide to float defense Eurobonds for financing and reinforcing the EU defense industry. The final statement notes that the EU leaders did not agree on any decision to expropriate investment income earned on Russia’s frozen sovereign assets held at European financial institutions. The relevant ministers were instructed to continue working on the proposals made by the EC and EU diplomatic department.

#Ukraine approves plan of cooperation with #NATO for 2024 Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has signed a program of Ukrainian-NATO cooperation for 2024, which involves the continued reconfiguring of the country’s armed forces in compliance with the military bloc’s standards as well as the bolstering of the Kiev regime’s cooperation with the alliance, the website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The program consists of implementing 50 steps in order to achieve 17 goals which include completing the transformation of the command and management system in accordance with NATO standards, setting up a joint Ukraine-NATO center for analysis, training and education, developing national documents in the field of defense in compliance with the bloc’s standards and introducing changes to the country’s legislation to boost civilian control of the military. Ukraine applied to join NATO on a fast-track basis in September 2022, and was assured at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July 2023 that it would be admitted if the necessary conditions were met. But, no timetable for its admission was given in Brussels.

EU agrees on military operation in Red Sea to safeguard shipping European Union countries have hammered out the details of the Aspides (Shields) military operation meant to ensure the security of commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the DPA news agency reported citing diplomatic sources. According to the agency, the official decision to launch the operation will be adopted at a meeting of foreign ministers on February 19 in Brussels. The decision adopted on Thursday laid out how the operation will be conducted and the location of its headquarters, which will be set up in the Greek city of Larissa. The EU's operational plan envisages sending European warships to the region to protect cargo ships from attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Hessen frigate will take part in the operation from the Bundeswehr, the ship left the port of Wilhelmshaven to the Red Sea region on February 8. It has approximately 250 military personnel on board. Red Sea situation deteriorates despite West's efforts The security situation in the Red Sea continues to deteriorate despite the West's actions against the Ansar Allah rebels, Bloomberg reported. "We’ve not seen the level of threat peak, to the contrary," AP Moller-Maersk Chief Executive Officer Vincent Clerc told Bloomberg. "The amount or the range of weapons that are being used for these attacks is expanding and there is no clear line of sight to when and how the international community will be able to mobilize itself and guarantee safe passage for us," he added. According to Norden Chief Executive Officer Jan Rinbo, the situation in the Red Sea has not been stabilized. "That really is unprecedented," he said. "I’ve not in my 29 years in shipping seen anything like this," Rinbo added. According to the agency, one Japanese shipping company, Mitsui O. S. K. Lines, has already said it would change the routes of its ships for at least the next 2-3 months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKrZ7z7AjQ

The EU will allocate 10 billion euros for a transportation corridor bypassing Russia through Azerbaijan The European Commission and the European Investment Bank plan to invest 1.5 billion euros in strategic transportation infrastructure projects in Central Asia to establish a transportation corridor from the region bypassing Russia. The European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) intend to invest 1.5 bln euro in strategic transport infrastructure facilities in Central Asia for creating a transport corridor stretching 11,000 kilometers from Asia to Europe bypassing Russia, EC Executive Vice-President, Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said when opening a two-day transport investment forum EU-Central Asia in Brussels. "Our long-term objective is to make the [transport] corridor a competitive, sustainable, smart and fast route to link our two regions in 15 days or less. To achieve this, we need to coordinate our resources with other corridor countries, international financial institutions, EU member states, as well as investors and companies both in Europe and Central Asia," he said, adding that "the joint contribution from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to advance the transport agenda in Central Asia will amount to 1.5 bln euro." Meanwhile EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell admitted that the EU’s plans to invest in the transport infrastructure of Central Asian nations have political purposes aimed at protecting the same values. "We need closer partnership to address global challenges. <…> Yes, we have to build infrastructure, we have to increase the connectivity of our space, but all that serves a political purpose to increase our partnership and to share a better future by increasing economic ties and defending the same values," he said.

The states of the European Union have reached an agreement "in principle" to launch a military operation to secure merchant shipping in the Red Sea, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell says following a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. 🔶️ European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said after a foreign affairs council Monday that the council had greenlit a new mission proposed by Italy, France and Germany to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. 🔶️ "We have agreed, in principle, to start the EU mission in the Red Sea," he said. 🔶️ "Now we have to work on unanimity as to when (it will start)," he added.