The European Commission has recommended candidate status for Ukraine. Just over three months after being invaded by Russia, Kyiv has cleared the first hurdle on the road to membership.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief has called for Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports. His comments come ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers.

Britain's biggest rail strike in decades has brought parts of the country to a standstill. Workers are walking out in protest at below-inflation pay rises as the cost-of-living spirals upwards.

Much of the UK has been crippled by the largest rail strike in decades. Some 40,000 workers participated in Tuesday's walkout, calling for higher wages to deal with the spiraling cost of living. Experts say the disruptions will weigh on economic growth. Also in the show: EasyJet is on the frontline of the aviation industry's staff shortages, and businesses in Las Vegas will continue performing Elvis-themed weddings, after reaching a deal with the late singer's estate.

Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia have criticized the slow progress on their EU membership bids. With Ukraine on the fast track, Western Balkan leaders are meeting with their EU counterparts — but hold out little hope.

UK's Johnson says he would defend Rwanda policy to Prince Charles

EU leaders are in Brussels to discuss the membership bids of Ukraine and Moldova. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has voted heavily in favor of the two countries' getting candidate status.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.

In tonight's edition: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defends his controversial deal to expel migrants to Rwanda, telling critics to "keep an open mind". Whilst most members of the bloc are former British colonies, Gabon and Togo are expected to join Mozambique and Rwanda as the latest nations to join the Commonwealth despite few historic links to the UK. Plus we take a closer look at some the major shifts needed to finance Africa's essential transition to reliable energy.

The European Union should change the way it does business with Africa to redress imbalances left over in part from the colonial era, EU lawmakers have said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine four months ago, the cost of living crisis has become a global issue. Prices have gone up around the world. In Europe, the countries that use the euro saw an average of 8.1 percent inflation in May. Pressure on prices, combined with stuttering economic growth, has sparked fears of a recession. These concerns could still come into play regarding the EU's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this programme, we're joined by two MEPs to discuss how the EU should balance sanctions against Russia with the risk of recession.

This week on Talking Europe we take a look at some of the other countries, aside from Ukraine, that are knocking on the EU's door to join the bloc. EU leaders held a summit on Thursday with the Western Balkan states to discuss their accession process. For Albania, that started back in 2008 and still hasn't advanced to the negotiations stage. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke to FRANCE 24’s Luke Brown on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans leaders' meeting in Brussels.