Rikard Jozwiak

I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and, in a break from my usual format, I'm writing about my impressions from Kyiv after spending a few days there last week.

In this week's newsletter, a new EU sanctions mechanism targeting malign Russian actions and Albania's recent progress on joining the EU.

In this week's briefing, I'm previewing two big meetings: Mark Rutte's first NATO ministerial and an EU summit that will be dominated by migration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to Brussels on October 17 to first to EU leaders at a summit in the Belgian capital and later to NATO defense ministers who are convening in another part of town.

Officials in Brussels woke up with a sense of relief this morning as the pro-EU incumbent, Maia Sandu, was reelected as Moldovan president. That relief, however, probably won't last long.

In this week's newsletter, the upcoming summits in Budapest and last week's EU enlargement report.

They are preparing for the possibility of increased tensions in transatlantic trade and the likelihood that the bloc of 27 member states will have to shoulder a bigger burden of political and financial support for Ukraine.

In this week's newsletter: the EU's training mission for Ukrainian soldiers and the main takeaways from the hearing on the EU's new enlargement commissioner.

In her debut hearing as EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas argued that Europe must intensify its support for Ukraine, apply pressure on China to withdraw its backing for Russia, and rally for unity in response to a shifting U.S. administration.

In this week's newsletter, what the EU can do about Georgia and the potential changes 2025 will bring for people entering the EU.