Sweden has joined other European countries in calling on the European Union to freeze its trade deal with Israel to force the country to allow aid to Gaza.

Slovenia has been one of the most vocal EU countries calling for the bloc to take action against Israel. The country recognised a Palestinian state in June last year and has since repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and increased aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.

European wine and spirits will face a 15% U.S. import tariff until a different deal is agreed in talks expected to continue in the autumn, the European Commission and EU diplomats said on Thursday, dashing producers' hopes of an immediate reprieve.

A ruling by the EU's top court has dealt a further blow to Italy's attempts to create a fast-track system in Albania for processing asylum applications offshore. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the way the Italian government currently defines whether a country is "safe" to return someone whose application is rejected contravenes EU law.

Europe's top court questioned the legitimacy of the "safe countries" list Italy uses to send migrants to Albania.

The specific case that led to the ECJ's opinion involved two Bangladeshi nationals who were rescued at sea by Italian authorities and taken to Italy's detention centre in Albania,