The Netherlands has announced a new support package for Ukraine in the amount of EUR209.5 million aimed at restoring critical infrastructure, Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp said.
“The Netherlands has announced a new support package of EUR209.5 million aimed at restoring critical infrastructure, including through the EBRD, and providing humanitarian assistance. We are contributing EUR45 million to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine and financing the supply of necessary equipment,” the minister wrote on social network X following the G7+ ministerial meeting in New York.
Veldkamp also said that Ukrainians are preparing for one of the harshest winters, and “Ukraine needs energy to survive.”
“At today’s meeting with G7 foreign ministers and partners, including (Ukrainian Foreign Minister) Andriy Sybiga, I emphasized that we must join forces to ensure this,” the minister said.
Denmark will allocate 130 million Danish kroner (about $19.4 million – IF-U) to Ukraine to restore energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks, the Danish government’s press service reports.
The aid was announced by Minister of Climate, Energy and Supply Lars Oagard during a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga at the G7 Working Group on Ukraine’s Energy Security.
“Not only is Putin’s army invading Ukraine’s borders, Russia is violating the rules of war by launching massive attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and heat supply. Winter is just around the corner, and many Ukrainian homes will be left without heat and electricity. And that’s not all, ordinary employees of the energy sector who work tirelessly at their jobs are being targeted. We must do everything we can to make the Ukrainian energy system as resilient as possible,” said Oagard.
The Danish donation is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will, among other things, support emergency measures and the procurement of equipment and spare parts to help restore security of supply. The support is provided in cooperation with UNDP, the Energy Community, the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Red Cross.
Chairman of the Customs Committee of Uzbekistan Akmalhuzha Mavlonov met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller in Washington, DC.
This is the first time in 32 years that Uzbekistan and the United States have held an official face-to-face meeting of this format between the heads of the two countries’ customs services.
Important agreements reached during the Uzbek-American summits in 2018 and 2023 paved the way for expanding mutual cooperation in all areas.
According to the agency, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade in US goods has increased by 48% over the past 6 years. For 8 months of this year, this figure increased by 64% compared to the same period last year.
It is emphasized that in order to increase these indicators, it is necessary to stimulate the expansion of foreign trade by establishing mutual cooperation and information exchange between the customs services of both countries.
That is why the negotiations focused on such pressing issues as monitoring risks at customs, digitalization of customs procedures and efficient use of human resources.
The heads of the customs services of the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance, which is an important legal basis for cooperation in the field of customs. This document, which opens a new page in the relationship, provides for the exchange of information between Uzbekistan and the United States in the field of customs and serves to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, human trafficking, transnational criminal groups, money laundering and customs evasion.
It is noteworthy that the United States has signed similar bilateral customs cooperation agreements with only 17 countries out of 200, and Uzbekistan is the 18th country on this list.
During the talks, the parties discussed in detail the possibilities of attracting specialists from the U.S. border and customs services to Uzbekistan, as well as the possibility of training Uzbek specialists in the United States.
During the visit, the Uzbek delegation is scheduled to familiarize itself with the activities of the U.S. National Targeting Center, the Academy of Cynology, San Antonio International Airport in Texas, the auto-border customs post in Laredo on the border with Mexico, and the Texas-Mexico international railroad crossing.
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Spanish farmers from the association Unión de Uniones held a rally in front of the European Commission building in Madrid on Monday demanding action against excessive grain imports from Ukraine, uniondeuniones.org reported.
According to the report, the association also denounced the speculation on feed prices that livestock farmers are suffering from.
“Unión de Uniones held a rally in front of the European Commission building in Madrid to protest against excessive imports of agri-food products that create unfair competition with European production, especially grain from Ukraine, which cause prices to fall for farmers while ranchers continue to pay for expensive feed,” the report said.
The association has registered a letter to the president of the European Commission with its demands and proposals to resolve the situation.
Unión de Uniones will unite about thirty producers representing the main producing regions of Spain.
The European Union is changing the rules for crossing borders by foreigners, including Ukrainians, the press service of the Ukrainian government reports.
“Starting November 10, a new IT system EES (Entry/Exit System) will be launched at the EU borders. It will automatically record the entry and exit of all foreigners to the Schengen countries. This applies to all non-EU citizens, including Ukrainians, regardless of whether they have a visa or a visa-free regime,” the telegram channel said.
The EES system will reportedly record the biometric data of a person crossing the border once and store it for three years.
“There will be no more stamps in the passport. Registration will take place automatically through self-service terminals,” the government said.
Thus, when a person enters the EU for the first time, biometric data will be taken: fingerprints and a photo of the face.
“The border crossing time may increase by about 40 seconds while your data is being collected. The biometric data will be stored for 3 years, and you do not need to re-submit it. If you refuse biometrics, you will be denied entry. Then, every time you cross the border, you will need to scan your passport at a self-service terminal,” the statement explains.
The new system is expected to simplify border crossings, enhance security with biometric documents, and help prevent the use of fake passports and combat illegal migration.
France will provide Ukraine with at least EUR60 million by the end of this year, according to Pierre Elbrun, the French President’s Special Envoy for Ukraine’s Relief and Recovery.
“As winter approaches, the situation is becoming critical – we must act now to quickly offer concrete energy solutions,” he wrote on social media X following a meeting of the G7+ Ministerial Group on Energy Support to Ukraine at the level of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Monday evening.
At the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken noted that the G7+ countries have mobilized more than $4 billion to support Ukraine’s energy sector since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
In a statement following the G7+ ministerial meeting, the countries welcome further commitments of funding and in-kind support to cover the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian energy sector, including repairing damaged power plants and district heating systems, deploying new, distributed energy sources, emergency backup power for critical services, and passive protection of energy infrastructure.
