Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania have agreed to prepare a joint application for European funding for a high-speed railway line along the “Western Axis” Athens-Thessaloniki-Sofia-Bucharest, according to the Bulgarian publication Sega.
According to the publication, the initiative was discussed at a meeting between representatives of the three countries and the European Commission in the context of the development of the North-South transport corridor, which is intended to connect the Baltic, Black and Aegean Seas. The meeting was hosted by Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadzhov.
Greek Transport Minister Konstantinos Kiranakis said that by 2027, it is planned to provide high-quality passenger rail service between Thessaloniki and Sofia, while the Bulgarian side recalled that rail service on this route was interrupted in 2017.
Karadzhov also noted that the countries intend to synchronize planning, design, and permitting procedures to avoid delays and bureaucratic obstacles. Among Bulgaria’s priorities, he highlighted the acceleration of the project for a new bridge across the Danube between Ruse and Giurgiu, as well as the preparation of projects for new bridges in the Nikopol-Turnu Măgurele and Silistra-Kelerashi areas; the restoration of ferry connections on the Danube, including the Ruse-Giurgiu line, was also mentioned.
According to Sega, Romanian Transport Ministry representative Ionut Cristian Savoiu named among Romania’s priorities the modernization of the existing Giurgiu-Ruse bridge, the construction of a new Danube bridge, and the development of road and rail lines, as well as improvements on the Vidin – Calafat – Craiova section for better connectivity with Ukraine and Moldova.
India and the European Union announced the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) following the summit in New Delhi.
According to the European Commission, trade liberalization will cover 99.3% for the EU and 96.6% for India (taking into account the partial liberalization of a number of items), with the EU eliminating tariffs on more than 90% of tariff lines and India on 86%.
The Indian side stated that the agreement provides access to the EU market for more than 99% of Indian exports in value terms, noting that the document will undergo legal review and final approval procedures.
According to EU profile materials, European agri-food exports will see a reduction in current high tariffs, including on alcoholic beverages—up to 30% for most wines, 40% for spirits, and 50% for beer. A number of Indian and industry sources also indicate that for certain categories, including passenger cars, tariffs may be reduced from 110% to 10% within an annual quota of up to 250,000 cars, and for premium wines – up to 20%.
EU-India trade in goods in 2024 amounted to around EUR 120 billion, with India being the EU’s ninth largest trading partner; for India, the EU is the largest trading partner in goods. The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry estimated bilateral trade in goods with the EU in the 2024-2025 financial year at $136.54 billion.
Source: https://expertsclub.eu/indiya-ta-yes-zavershyly-peregovory-shhodo-ugody-pro-zvt/
EU, FTA, INDIA, NEGOTIATIONS
A shipment of 76 emergency generators from EU strategic reserves arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to restore power supply to Ukrainian settlements.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, this is immediate assistance from the EU for urgent needs and is part of the EU’s ongoing support for Ukraine’s energy security.
During a conversation with journalists, European Union Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova noted that she was pleased to have the opportunity to “demonstrate the concrete assistance that the European Union is providing to Ukraine.”
“This is only a small part of the equipment that we are transferring to Ukraine. Another part is still at customs,” she said.
The ambassador explained that this is part of 447 generators previously announced by the European Commission due to extremely low temperatures in Ukraine in January. The total cost of these generators is EUR 3.7 million.
In general, more than 10,000 generators have already been transferred through the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In total, as Maternova noted, the EU has already provided EUR 190 billion in aid since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) has announced that it will be forced to shut down its blooming shop in the second quarter of 2026.
According to the company’s press release on Monday, this decision is not an easy one, but it is objectively dictated by the current economic and market conditions in which the company is operating in the context of a full-scale war.
The key factor that led to this step was the European Commission’s decision to introduce the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for Ukrainian producers from January 1, 2026, without any exceptions or transition period. In effect, this means the loss of the European market for a significant portion of Ukrainian metallurgical products, which critically affects the production volumes and utilization of individual units.
It is noted that ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has made significant efforts to reorient sales to the European Union market after the start of the full-scale war. In fact, this market was built from scratch in extremely difficult conditions. However, the introduction of CBAM without taking into account the military realities in Ukraine has nullified these efforts. In the absence of a stable European market, the company does not have sufficient orders to ensure the operation of the blooming mill both today and in the medium term.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle, with production capacities designed for an annual output of over 6 million tons of steel, more than 5 million tons of rolled products, and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron.
ArcelorMittal owns Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical complex, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
The Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) has announced that it will be forced to shut down its blooming shop in the second quarter of 2026.
According to the company’s press release on Monday, this decision is not an easy one, but it is objectively dictated by the current economic and market conditions in which the company is operating in the context of a full-scale war.
The key factor that led to this step was the European Commission’s decision to introduce the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for Ukrainian producers from January 1, 2026, without any exceptions or transition period. In effect, this means the loss of the European market for a significant portion of Ukrainian metallurgical products, which critically affects the production volumes and utilization of individual units.
It is noted that ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has made significant efforts to reorient sales to the European Union market after the start of the full-scale war. In fact, this market was built from scratch in extremely difficult conditions. However, the introduction of CBAM without taking into account the military realities in Ukraine has nullified these efforts. In the absence of a stable European market, the company does not have sufficient orders to ensure the operation of the blooming mill both today and in the medium term.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle, with production capacities designed for an annual output of over 6 million tons of steel, more than 5 million tons of rolled products, and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron.
ArcelorMittal owns Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical complex, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
Ukraine will be fully integrated into the EU energy market in 2027, even if we are not yet formally a member of the Union, said Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka, according to a correspondent from Interfax-Ukraine.
“There is currently a large bill in parliament—several hundred pages on the final integration of Ukraine’s energy market with the EU. It is ready for its second reading, and I think we will be able to adopt it in February,” he said at the Ukrainian Breakfast in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Thursday, organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.
According to Kachka, the document consists of hundreds of pages of technical assessments that experts have been working on for years.
“It is thanks to this work that in 2027 we will be fully integrated into the EU energy market, even if we are not yet formally a member of the Union,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
As reported, on July 22, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 12087-d “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Implementation of European Law on Energy Market Integration, Improving Security of Supply and Competitiveness in the Energy Sector.” According to the Ministry of Energy, the relevant legislative proposal was developed on the basis of nine EU energy legislation acts and aims to create the necessary legislative framework for the full integration of Ukraine’s electricity market into the single European market on the principle of reciprocity.
The document provides, in particular, for the integration of the short-term (spot) electricity markets of Ukraine and the EU (market coupling) and balancing markets, which means increasing market liquidity, simplifying the conditions for trading electricity with the EU, making effective use of the transmission capacity of interconnections between countries, increasing the flexibility of the energy system, and providing access to EU reserves.
The draft law also provides for additional mechanisms to protect consumer rights and strengthen their role in the market by increasing the transparency of supply conditions and introducing tools for comparing suppliers’ offers, as well as creating conditions for consumers to participate in other market segments, in particular the ancillary services market.
The ministry noted that the adoption of the document as a whole will ensure the synchronization of electricity markets in early 2027.
