Ukraine rejected associate status in the EU, IMF warns of the Union's debt doubling

The United States has imposed tariffs of 25 percent on passenger cars and trucks from the European Union. Washington does not describe the steps as a declaration of trade war, but as an effort to force Brussels into a broader agreement, which the Trump administration has named "trade peace." The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, warns that Trump is trying to divide Europe by concluding bilateral agreements with individual members, and that, in her view, this cannot be allowed room to happen. aktuality.sk ↗

Meanwhile, a constitutional dispute over the rights of LGBTI+ persons has flared up in Slovakia. The Progressive Slovakia party is filing a motion with the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic against the practice whereby Slovak citizens lose their citizenship due to marrying abroad, if it concerns a same-sex couple. They speak of Slovakia as the "last open-air museum of homophobia in the European Union." In Poland, meanwhile, a step in the opposite direction took place — authorities for the first time registered in the civil registry a marriage of two men concluded abroad. This did not legalize marriages of same-sex couples, but at least formally recognized the registration. The State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, led bilateral talks in Prague with Czech partners, as Slovakia prepares for its presidency of the Visegrad Group. ekonomika.sme.sk ↗

A controversial figure of Polish politics is also moving around the EU's borders. According to the American weekly Newsweek, former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, who faces criminal prosecution at home, was driven from Poland to Serbia by a Hungarian government vehicle. The route led outside the Schengen area. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also announced that Kyiv and Budapest will open negotiations on the status of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia — a topic that the Hungarian government has been escalating since the latest Russian attacks on the region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply rejected the proposal by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Ukraine become only an associate member of the European Union. In a letter addressed to the leaders of EU institutions, he clearly stated that Ukraine does not want to be in the Union without voting rights and does not want to be an associated state. aktuality.sk ↗

In the United Kingdom, a debate about a return has stirred up. The challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party has called Brexit a "catastrophic mistake" and is calling for Britain to return to the European Union. Meanwhile, the British government continues its efforts to restore relations with the European Union, which were largely severed by Brexit. According to British media, the cabinet of Prime Minister Merz has proposed to Brussels the creation of a single market for goods. In France, meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron and the Belarusian president spoke by telephone. novinky.cz ↗