Carpathian Eight diplomacy: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy hosted leaders from Romania, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria and Hungary for the inaugural “Carpathian Eight” summit, pitching deeper regional cooperation with the EU amid stalled US-led efforts to end the war. Regional investment push: The Carpathian Economic Forum ran alongside the summit, with a reported €40bn portfolio across 95 projects and a focus on energy, transport/logistics and agri-food. Romania–Ukraine security: President Nicușor Dan said Romania will contribute Patriot interceptor missiles to a NATO joint effort, while talks also advanced on drone co-production under the SAFE program. Moldova business and exports: Moldova’s PM Vasile Tofan met southern entrepreneurs in Taraclia and Gagauzia, stressing predictable rules and cutting bureaucracy that delays exports. Citizenship row in Bucharest: USR’s diaspora senator George-Cătălin Bochileanu attacked a PSD-backed legislative initiative that would restrict re-acquisition of Romanian citizenship, saying it targets people across the Prut. EU border tech friction: The EU allowed several Schengen states to pause full rollout of the entry-exit system, as queues and delays keep fueling political pressure.