Ukraine will participate in the 55th Brussels Book Fair (Foire du Livre de Bruxelles), which will take place from March 26 to 29 in Belgium, according to the Ukrainian Book Institute (UBI).
“This will be Ukraine’s second time participating in this event; this year, it will be part of the collective booth of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC). Ukrainian publications will be featured in the booth’s bookstore (Librairie européenne). And on Friday, March 27, there will be a discussion on the various levels of ‘translation’ of the Ukrainian experience—between the military and civilians, the post-totalitarian East and West, the languages of culture and politics—as well as on how to interpret one’s own history for an international audience,” the UIB statement reads.
It is noted that on March 27, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., a public discussion in French titled “Traduire le présent, défier le futur” will take place at the Place à l’Europe venue. Participants in the event include: veteran, writer, and translator Pavlo Matyusha; journalist and writer (Georgia), winner of the 2025 European Union Prize for Literature, Tea Topuria; Marilyn Josephson, international policy advisor to the President of the European Council and diplomat; Mykyta Moskaliuk, program and international project curator at the “Frontiera” Literary Platform (moderator).
Participants at the Brussels Book Fair include: Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski (“The Witcher”), French prose writer and playwright Philippe Besson (“Stop Your Fantasies”), Belgian writers Amélie Nothomb and Caroline Lamarche (finalist for the Goncourt Prize), and many others.
As reported, Ukraine is participating in The London Book Fair, which takes place from March 10 to 12. Twelve publishers and a literary agency are presenting their books at the national stand.
Ukraine will participate in the Leipzig Book Fair, which will take place from March 19 to 22.
In 2025, the Ukrainian national stand at the London Book Fair was represented by 14 Ukrainian publishers and literary agencies, featuring 199 titles of Ukrainian publications.
On his Facebook page, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote 12 points of expectations of the Hungarian people from Brussels, including “the union, but without Ukraine.” Here are the points listed in the post:
– we want a Europe of nations;
– We want equality before the law for all member states;
– return to the member states the illegally taken away powers;
– national sovereignty, strong veto power for national governments;
– exclude Soros agents from the European Commission and corrupt lobbyists from the European Parliament;
– the future of our grandchildren should not be mortgaged;
– not to prevent our National Guard from defending our borders. Do not accept migrants, take away illegal immigrants from us;
– “corrupt” dollars and euros should not enter EU member states;
– prohibit the “unnatural” re-education of our children;
– we want to protect the Christian heritage of Europe;
– demand peace in Europe;
– Union, but without Ukraine.
Four EU countries – Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Estonia – propose to Brussels to ban the import of waste and scrap ferrous metals, copper and aluminum from Russia.
Such a proposal was presented at a meeting of the European Union Environment Council held on March 25, the Lithuanian Environment Ministry said.
“Lithuania proposes that the European Commission assess all possibilities at EU level and make a proposal to suspend waste imports from Russia to the EU or allow Member States to adopt unilateral restrictive measures. We believe that such imports contribute to financing Russia’s war against Ukraine and should be stopped,” Lithuania’s deputy permanent representative to the EU, Ambassador Jurga Kasputene, said at the council meeting.
According to the Environment Ministry, more than 118 million euros worth of waste and scrap ferrous metals, copper and aluminum were imported from Russia to the EU in 2022-2023. Most of these imports go through Lithuania.
According to the ministry, cross-border transportation of waste is regulated by the Basel Convention and the Waste Transportation Regulation, so individual member states cannot unilaterally ban or restrict such imports.
ALUMINUM, BRUSSELS, COPPER, FERROUS METAL, IMPORTS, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SCRAP
On November 16, Brussels will host the Kyiv Investment Forum 2023, which this year will focus “on long-term strategies for the sustainable recovery and development of the Ukrainian capital, as well as its integration into the global economic space,” the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) reports.
“The forum will take place on November 16 in Brussels and will bring together city leaders, European and Ukrainian politicians, leading economists, investors and urbanists,” the KCSA said on Wednesday, citing the Department of Economics and Investments, which is organizing the event.
The forum’s main session will reportedly focus on Europe’s changing geopolitical landscape and the growing importance of megacities. Participants will examine the challenges of conflict and war, emphasize the value of sustainable development and the recovery of war-affected communities. It will include four panel discussions and two sections on challenges and problems in both wartime and post-war.
The Forum will also include a panel discussion on investments in transformation, including business ecosystems and innovation clusters.
“A separate discussion will be devoted to restoring the mental health of the population, social integration and adaptation of veterans and people affected by wars
Brussels will continue to support Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia in carrying out pro-European reforms, according to a statement issued on Friday following the EU summit.
“The European Union will continue to work closely with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia and support their reform efforts on their European path,” it said.
The statement says that the meeting also decided that Brussels will support Moldova in addressing the challenges it faces due to the events in Ukraine.
Last March, Georgia applied for EU membership, but has not yet been granted candidate status.
In February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Ukraine’s application for EU membership. In June of the same year, the EU Council granted Ukraine candidate status.
In June 2022, Moldova was also granted candidate status.
Following the meeting of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain exports, no decision was made on whether or not to extend the current temporary ban on grain imports to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria, which expires on September 15.
This was reported to Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday after the 9th meeting of the joint coordination platform, chaired by the head of the cabinet of the Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis, Mr. Hager.
According to her, the first part of the meeting was attended by representatives of five member states, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the Commission. “The Commission presented the latest forecasts of the market situation in terms of harvest, trade and prices. Countries were invited to share the latest information. The platform also discussed how to increase storage capacity and reduce border crossing time. Finally, they exchanged views on short-term actions to facilitate trade flows and on ways to support transport,” the EC representative said about the content of the first part of the platform meeting.
According to Garcia, the second part of the meeting, which was attended by representatives of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, Italy and Croatia, was devoted to alternative routes.
“In the context of this meeting, the Commission informed that no decision has yet been made on preventive measures, the phased abolition of which is scheduled for September 15, 2023. In any case, the Platform will continue to meet regularly and monitor grain imports from Ukraine,” the European Commission representative stated.
As you know, in May 2022, the EU decided to temporarily suspend import duties, quotas and trade remedies on Ukrainian exports to the European Union – known as autonomous trade measures – to help alleviate the difficulties faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters after the Russian invasion. At the same time, following logistical problems in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia caused by imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds originating in Ukraine, exceptional and preventive measures on their imports came into force on May 2, 2023, and were extended on June 5.
