Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
The European Union has adopted its 18th package of sanctions against Russia this morning, after Slovakia dropped its opposition in exchange for further guarantees on unrelated gas imports policy (9:27, 9:54, 10:20).
The move was welcomed by EU leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron (11:09) and German chancellor Friedrich Merz (10:51), as well as the most senior Ukrainian leaders (9:43, 9:57, 10:13).
But Russia dismissed the move, with the Kremlin spokesperson saying it has adapted to live with “illegal” sanctions (11:51).
Separately,
EU leaders expressed their concerns about the proposed draft budget for 2028-2034, including the proposed increase in spending, new corporate taxation proposals, and changes to farming subsidies (10:26, 11:37, 14:12).
Interior ministers from six EU countries signed a declaration seeking to tighten the EU’s asylum rules (15:52).
German chancellor Friedrich Merz defended his government’s track record at a lengthy summer press conference in Berlin, discussing EU-US trade (10:33, 11:40), migration and rising Euroscepticism across the continent (12:33)
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Migration hawks want to tighten EU's asylum rules
Interior ministers from six EU countries signed a declaration seeking to tighten the EU’s asylum rules after a meeting at Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze.
The meeting, hosted by Germany’s interior minister Alexander Dobrindt and with Austrian, Czech, Danish, French, EU and Polish representatives in attendance, looked at removing obstacles to transferring rejected asylum seekers outside the bloc.
The final four-page declaration, published today, warned that large numbers of migrants entering the EU were “creating considerable pressure on our national systems of asylum, reception and integration, including challenges to internal security, and contributing to a growing polarisation in our societies.”
They proposed that bringing an appeal to an administrative decision should not always result in suspending the original decision, among other policy ideas.
The document also called for stricter enforcement of law against migrant smuggling and human trafficking and stronger border protection.
