The Commission adopted today a decision ensuring that Covid-19 certificates issued by Switzerland will be considered equivalent to the EU Digital Covid certificate. This means that Switzerland is to become the first country from outside the EU to be connected to the EU's system and that the Swiss Covid certificates will be accepted in the EU under the same conditions as the EU certificate.

Russia expelled on Wednesday an Estonian diplomat after accusing him of spying, dealing a fresh setback to Moscow's already strained relations with the EU, news wires reported. Mart Latte was given 48 hours to leave the country.

Germany, France and Britain voiced “grave concern” over a further move by Iran that they say is a serious violation of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, warning that it threatens the outcome of talks aimed at bringing the US back into the agreement, the AP reported.

EU pushed UK to accept a Swiss-style deal over veterinary differences on agricultural foods differences between Britain and Northern Ireland which has gained popularity as the ''sausage war''. The tension has risen after the Brexit process came into effect, Reuters reported. The issue is sensitive for Northern Ireland, particularly related to chilled meat, because the province’s open border with EU member Ireland is now part of Britain’s frontier with the EU’s single market.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts today a summit with six Western Balkan aspiring for EU membership, news wires reported. The summit aims at forging closer cooperation as these countries limp on their way to the EU. Here come some facts about the six Balkan aspirants, compiled by Reuters.

The EU agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire with Britain in a post-Brexit dispute dubbed the "sausage war" by extending a grace period for shipments of certain meat products from mainland UK to Northern Ireland, news wires reported. The Union will also make it easier for medicines and guide dogs to cross the Irish Sea and allow Northern Irish drivers to travel to Ireland with existing insurance documents.

EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to extend for another six months economic sanctions on Russia, first imposed in 2014 for the Crimea annexation and the Kremlin's involvement in conflict in east Ukraine, diplomats said, cited by news wires.

Talks with Russia on EU level would be useful on a number of issues, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In her words this would be the way to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin directly that cyber attacks are no basis for a productive relationship, she pointed out on Monday.

The EU imposed for the first time on Thursday wide-ranging economic sanctions on Belarus, targeting its main export industries and access to finance, news wires reported. They come a month after a Ryanair flight was forced to land in Minsk.

EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday in Luxembourg to blacklist dozens more supporters of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a bid to tighten the vice on his government and strengthen its opponents, news wires reported. Seventy-eight individuals are to be hit with measures like EU travel bans or having assets located in the bloc frozen, EU sources told dpa last week.