Addressing matters related to the coronavirus pandemic, preparations for the upcoming G7 summit, and the implementation of the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership will be on the menu of the virtual leaders’ meeting of EC President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe that will be held on Tuesday.

Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller offered to treat coronavirus patients in the German capital's hospitals from the twin city Moscow, dpa reported.

EU chief negotiator Michael Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost exchanged letters on the EU-UK talks pace blaming each other on a possible stalemate, news wires reported. Barnier reacted to a Frost’s letter describing Brussels’ trade deal offer as a “low quality trade agreement”, adding that an exchange of letters was not the best way to conduct negotiations.

In an unprecedented demonstration of consular cooperation, the EU and its Member States, have managed to ensure the repatriation of around 600,000 European citizens from third countries back home. I can report “mission accomplished” regarding the repatriations of the EU citizens stranded abroad due to the coronavirus travel restrictions, High Representative/ EC Vice-President Josep Borrell said.

Talks between the European Union and the United Kingdom on their post-Brexit relationship ground to a near-standstill on Friday, news wires reported. Each side accused the other of blocking progress on a trade deal just weeks before the crucial summit in June. The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a news conference in Brussels that a week-long round of talks had been “disappointing, very disappointing.”

The European Union and Britain are to finish a third round of negotations on a post-Brexit trade deal on Friday after a week of video conferences. Talks made little progress, sources with the bloc said, with persistent differences on key areas weighing on chances for a deal by the end of the year. “Both sides agreed to disagree,” one diplomat told Reuters in Brussels.

British PM Boris Johnson’s top team of ministers agreed on Thursday that Britain will not give up its rights as an independent state by bending to the demands of the EU in its talks on a future relationship, news wires reported.

The European Union, witnessing the continued escalation of violence in Libya, renewed its call for a truce, in a declaration, issued on Tuesday by the Commission’s VP and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

Frontex expects a fresh wave of migrants seeking to cross the Turkish border into the European Union via Greece after Ankara lifts restrictions imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus, Greek media reported.

The European Council announced on 3 April the appointment of former Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak as EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues. Lajcak assumes office with an initial 12-month term.