British Cabinet Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic will meet in London next week for further talks to resolve issues surrounding the Irish border, news wires reported. On Wednesday evening, Gove and Sefcovic held a video crisis meeting with the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that Boris Johnson’s government has to decide who its allies are, insisting that “half-friends is not a concept”. “What politics does Great Britain wish to choose? It cannot be the best ally of the US, the best ally of the EU and the new Singapore … It has to choose a model,” Macron said, in an interview with the Guardian and a small group of other media.

The EU foreign ministers were expected on Monday to discuss and impose new sanctions on Russian individuals after more than 3,000 people were arrested across Russia on Saturday during peaceful demonstrations  demanding the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, news wires reported.

Turkey and the European Union have started the year positively and steps to restart talks with Greece over hydrocarbons in the Mediterranean are welcome, but the EU remains concerned about human rights, the bloc’s top envoy said on Thursday.

Germany, France and Britain pressed Iran on Saturday to back off the latest planned violation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, saying that Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for uranium metal.

The Turkish and French presidents have exchanged letters in which they have agreed to meet and resume talks aimed at mending ties.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has cancelled a final trip to Europe a day after it was announced, citing the transition to a new administration as President Donald Trump's term in office comes to a close, DPA reported. The State Department said all travel would be cancelled in order to ensure a smooth transition to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on 20 January.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that Tehran’s decision to ramp up uranium enrichment could undermine efforts to keep the deal alive amid diplomatic efforts to bring the US back on board, AP reported. In his statement, released late Monday, Borrell said Iran’s intention to enrich uranium up to 20% at the Fordo underground nuclear facility “is a very serious development and a matter of deep concern,” and “has very severe proliferation implications.”

A statement issued on Thursday by the EC Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, says that the EU welcomes the important step by Kazakhstan to abolish the death penalty, which is in line with the world trend to abandon the most inhuman punishment.

Spain and the United Kingdom reached a last-minute preliminary deal on the status of post-Brexit Gibraltar, the Spanish foreign minister said on Thursday.