German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday cast doubt on the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union by 2034, saying accession was unlikely to come at a point affecting the bloc's medium-term finance plans,

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled a proposal for a long-term EU budget that she says will total $2.3 trillion.

Crafting a budget for 27 countries stretching from Lapland to Lisbon is a fiddly process. In fiscal terms the “multi-annual financial framework”, as it is known in Brussels patois, is of peripheral concern.

Foreign ministers from the EU's 27-member nations are meeting in Brussels in the wake of a new aid deal for Gaza, largely forged by the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

The EU – the United States' biggest trading partner – had been scheduled to impose "countermeasures" starting Monday at midnight in Brussels

A law letting the government block freedom of movement could be a deal-breaker for the EU. Yet a fudge might still be found. Switzerland’s government seems, after decades of hesitation, to have come round on the need for tighter integration with Europe, even if some Swiss would prefer to stop the clock. ■

The AI Act applies to AI models that the commission deems to carry systemic risks that could significantly affect "public health, safety, fundamental rights, or society," reports Reuters. It also includes the most well-known "foundational models" from companies like Meta, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that he believed the negotiations between the European Union and the US on a solution to their trade dispute were in the final phase. Speaking to reporters at the traditional summer press conference in Berlin,