Jan Strupczewski

Ukraine's borders cannot be changed by force, its army cannot be reduced leaving it vulnerable to an attack and the European Union must have a central role in a peace deal for Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

European Union governments and the European Parliament have reached agreement on harmonising the 27-nation bloc's insolvency laws to make it easier to invest across the EU and create a more liquid EU capital market, the EU Council said in a statement.

The European Commission on Monday proposed to EU governments three options to finance Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. EU leaders are expected to discuss which one to pick in December.

The euro zone economy is likely to expand faster than expected this year and grow at or above potential in 2026 and 2027, but debt and deficit will be on the rise too because of defence spending, the European Commission said on Monday.

European Union finance ministers agreed on Thursday to bring forward to "as soon as possible in 2026" the introduction of customs duties on low-value parcels arriving in the 27-nation EU, an EU spokesman said, in a move that will hit Chinese on-line retailers Shein and Temu.

The European Union will on Thursday discuss two main ways to raise financial support for Ukraine - borrowing the money, or the more likely option of using frozen Russian assets, a senior EU official said.

The Group of Seven (G7) coalition will seek to set two price caps on Russian refined products in February, one for products trading at a premium to crude oil and the other for those trading at a discount, a G7 official said.

The European Parliament wants the European Commission to amend its proposal for the EU 2028-2034 budget to restore separate financing streams for farmers and for regional aid, a senior EU parliament official said on Wednesday.

The European Union is searching for a way to finance Ukraine's defence and reconstruction with Russian central bank assets immobilised in the West after Moscow's invasion.

EU leaders agreed on Thursday to meet Ukraine's pressing financial needs for the next two years but stopped short of explicitly endorsing the use of Russian frozen assets to give Kyiv a large loan, after concerns were raised by Belgium.