Michel Barnier

AFP - European leaders will gather Wednesday for a summit to put summer tensions over migration behind them and to set up the last stretch of talks for a Brexit deal.

The European Union's top officials face intense pressure in the coming weeks to seal a divorce deal and a plan for future ties with Britain to avert a chaotic exit in March.

According to the British Express, Pahor said the EU "could not hope to take on the likes of Serbia, Montenegro and Albania as new members in its current state."

"A weak EU will not be able to expand to the Western Balkans," he told during a forum in Bled on Tuesday, in the presence of European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

Michel Barnier, the European Commission's chief "Brexit" negotiator, visited Athens last Friday to give the government an update on progress. This can't have taken him very long - the divergences in the positions of the United Kingdom and the EU-27 remain wide.

Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, expressed solidarity with Greece on Friday in an address to a joint committee meeting of the Greek Parliament in Athens.

"I am in Greece at a moment of national mourning, which is also a European mourning," he said.

The EU's chief negotiator has ruled out allowing the UK to collect customs duties on its behalf, a key UK proposal for post-Brexit trade.

Michel Barnier said the UK wanted to "take back control" of its money, law and borders - but so did the EU.

The EU would not delegate "excises duty collection to a non-member", he said.

Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu participated on Friday in Brussels in meeting of the General Affairs Council (Article 50) in the EU 27 format, organised following the initiation of the process on UK's withdrawal from the European Union.

AGERPRES special correspondent to Brussels, Belgium, Madalina Cerban reports:

At the European Council meeting in Brussels on Friday, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis reaffirmed support for the implementation of the Digital Single Market objectives.

Today, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Ekaterina Zaharieva chaired the General Affairs Council meeting in an EU-27 format (GAC Article 50). That was the last meeting of this Council formation under the Bulgarian Presidency.

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on April 20 some 25 percent of work remained to be done on a pact covering U.K. withdrawal from the EU, including crucial issues such as management of the Ireland/Northern Ireland border.

Michel Barnier said he and Mr Davis have made a "decisive step" towards agreeing a joint legal text on the UK's EU withdrawal.

The Brussels negotiator also confirmed he would take the agreement to European Council of EU leaders for approval at Thursday's summit.