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.

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.

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.

Although EU candidacy for Ukraine and Moldova has been hailed as historic, frustrations among other candidates years into their own membership bids should serve as a reminder that the path ahead won't be easy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to transfer the Iskander-M missile systems in their conventional and nuclear versions to Belarus.

Moscow has failed to meet a deadline for over $40 billion in outstanding debts as Western sanctions squeeze the Russian economy. The Kremlin has downplayed the news, insisting it has enough to pay what it owes.

The European Commission is set to present its strategy for a united effort to ensure gas supplies for the coming winter. Meanwhile, the European Council has adopted a plan to ensure gas storage capacity is filled.

Who has got who over a barrel? G7 leaders are pushing the idea of capping the price they pay for Russian oil and gas, effectively forcing Moscow to choose whether to supply at a discount or cut off the revenue stream of its pipelines.

With the conclusion of their three-day summit, G7 leaders have agreed to develop a price cap on Russian oil and provide billions in food assistance to avert a hunger crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

The alliance is expected to announce increased troop numbers in at its eastern borders, as well as more aid for Ukraine. Leaders from Asia and Oceania were also invited to address concerns about rising Chinese influence.