Euobserver.com

Ukraine's military has confirmed that the major eastern city of Lysychansk has fallen to Russian forces. "After heavy fighting for Lysychansk, the defence forces of Ukraine were forced to withdraw from their occupied positions and lines," the army general staff said on Sunday. Earlier Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces had captured Lysychansk and taken full control of the Luhansk region.

European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans told The Guardian Sunday Poland shouldn't get post-Covid recovery money because it remained in violation of EU rules on judicial independence. The same people who had expelled government-critical judges were now in charge of deciding which ones to rehire. "I don't think that is a correct implementation of the European court of justice ruling," Timmermans said.

Czech fighter jets will protect Slovak airspace from September, Czech prime minister Petr Fiala announced Sunday, as Bratislava prepares to send its fleet of old MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine to fight Russia. "We will help Slovakia until it has new planes at its disposal," Fiala said on TV. "They [Ukraine] are fighting for us," he added.

Turkish customs authorities have impounded a Russian-flagged ship, the Zhibek Zholy, on suspicion it was smuggling stolen Ukrainian grain, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said on Ukrainian TV Sunday, Reuters reports. "We have full co-operation. The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port, it has been detained," he said. The cargo could end up being confiscated, pending an investigation by Turkish authorities Monday.

The German and Irish foreign ministers have urged Britain to halt legislation that would undo the post-Brexit trade deal on Northern Ireland. "We urge the British government to step back from their unilateral approach," Annalena Baerbock and Simon Coveney said in an op-ed in The Observer Sunday. "In these difficult times, as Russia is leading a ruthless war in Ukraine," they said, "the EU and UK must stand together".

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Skopje Saturday against a French-Bulgarian deal on moving ahead with EU enlargement, local media reported. The rallies came after French president Emmanuel Macron and North Macedonian prime minister Dimitar Kovačevski hinted Friday Skopje would agree to alter its constitution to reflect Bulgarian historical concerns before starting EU talks. The nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party called the rallies, saying the concessions were a "shame".

For the most part Nato and its 30 leaders rose to the occasion — but it wasn't without room for improvement. The lesson remains that Nato still doesn't know how or want to hold allies accountable for disruptive behaviour.

The Czech Republic took over the EU's rotating presidency on Friday (1 July), which will be dominated by the economic and humanitarian outfall of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A European Parliament administrator took photos of around a dozen in-house interpreters protesting outside the agricultural committee on Thursday, according to a source with knowledge of the issue. The interpreters are protesting remote sessions due to poor sound quality leading to auditory health problems and the fact the parliament is now outsourcing the work to others. The committee was in remote session with UN's World Food Programme.

Poland's dissolution of a controversial judicial disciplinary chamber meant it still did "not meat" EU Commission standards on independent courts for disbursing EU post-pandemic recovery funds, EU values commissioner Věra Jourová said Thursday, AP reports. "I am of good faith that at the end of this year, or early next year, the first recovery funds will be disbursed for specified projects in Poland," Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

Polish president Andrzej Duda is already fishing for a job at the UN after his mandate ends in 2025, Polish news website Onet.pl reported Thursday, citing sources in his entourage. One possibility is as a UN special envoy on Ukraine, sources said. The appointment could not be vetoed by Russia, but would need Chinese support, with Duda having eschewed criticism of China in public in order to improve his chances.

EU auditors raised concerns on Thursday over the European Commission's increasing use of external consultants. In recent years, the commission paid €1bn annually for consultancy, studies, and other activities. Auditors said potential risks related to the concentration of firms, over-dependence and conflicts of interest are not properly monitored. "More transparency and accountability is needed," said lead auditor François-Roger Cazala, urging the commission to regularly publish the use of consultants.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the European Union and Moscow are set to come up with a plan on the movement of goods between Russia's mainland and its enclave Kaliningrad. "Both sides concluded that it is worth agreeing a plan that will not violate de facto implementation of the sanctions, because, frankly speaking, the Kaliningrad oblast is a very small part of Russia," he said.

Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed source , says EU states are set to back a European Commission proposal that would make it more difficult for state-backed foreign firms to take over European companies that are valued at €500m or more. The move is seen as a nod towards a more assertive China.

Billionaires during the height of the pandemic had a net worth average increase of $5.2bn a day, said WFP's David Beasley. He also noted Gulf states now profiting from high fuel prices. Both should step up, he said.

Dr Hans Bruyninckx the executive director of the European Environment Agency, on why — and how — Europe can cut its pollution-caused cancer rates.

The EU has overturned a funding ban on two Palestinian NGOs, effectively debunking an Israeli campaign to smear them as terrorists.

The EU reach on Thursday a new trade agreement with New Zealand, including commitments related to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and international labour rights that are enforceable through a new system of sanctions. EU exports could potentially grow by up to €4.5bn per year thanks to this deal, the European Commission said. From the first year of application, the agreement could save €140m in duties for EU companies annually.

Two MEPs have withdrawn their nominations from the MEPs Awards over the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis's participation as a sponsor — currently involved in an alleged bribery scandal in Greece.

The Russian foreign ministry has told Norway it will take "retaliatory measures" unless it allows EU-sanctioned goods to resume flowing through Norwegian checkpoints to Russian settlements in the Svalbard archipelago in the high north, Reuters reports. Norwegian police said Wednesday a "criminal pro-Russian group" was guilty of hacking several public and private institutions, while reassuring people that no sensitive data had been stolen.