European Union

Xi Jinping, China's president and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, is due in Washington for a state visit today. The talks between the two superpowers will focus on contentious issues of global relevance: the truce reached last year in the trade war over tariffs and rare earths is due to expire in November. The regulation of AI, Taiwan, Iran and Ukraine are also on the agenda.

The Left Party under lead candidate Elif Eralp secured a clear victory in Berlin's state elections on Sunday, claiming around 26 percent of the vote. Mathematically, a red-red-green coalition led by The Left Party is now a possibility. What would that mean for Germany's capital and for Europe?

US President Trump has banned several media outlets including the TV channel CNN and news website Politico, which is owned by the Springer-Verlag, from the White House. The President justified the move citing "fake news" about his activities. In response, TV channels ABC, CBS, Fox News, NBC and CNN have suspended their pool coverage of the president.

The EU has agreed at the last minute to extend the current sanctions against Russia – which target around 3,000 individuals and organisations – for another three years. However at the instigation of France and Slovakia, two oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, have been removed from the list. Kyiv is outraged. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha describe the decision as "shameful and unjustifiable".

RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of a broad package of agreements between the European Union, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to consolidate, deepen and expand the bilateral relations, and amending Decisions 2011/51/EU and 2011/738/EU
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Christophe Grudler

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning EU-China political relations
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Hilde Vautmans

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP