EU Enlargement Push: European Council President António Costa says this week’s EU summit with Western Balkan candidates will prove enlargement is “real,” calling it a geostrategic investment in peace and security, with a key meeting in Tivat, Montenegro, bringing together EU leaders and North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro. EU Accession Politics: The same enlargement message is echoed across the region as candidate countries face pressure to align laws with EU standards. World Cup Prep: Turkey beat North Macedonia 4-0 in Istanbul in a World Cup warm-up, with Can Uzun, Orkun Kökçü, Deniz Gül and Barış Alper Yılmaz scoring. Energy Transition: North Macedonia’s just transition platform reports progress under JETIP, with about €1.7bn in identified projects and financing secured for roughly €460m, including major renewable energy work like the Bitola 3 solar plant. Competition & Sports: North Macedonia is listed among teams in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Division B in Bratislava, while local football attention continues around the Turkey–North Macedonia friendly. Business & Competition: Sport Vision’s group expansion in the region is reported to have been notified to North Macedonia’s antimonopoly commission via BDS Co’s planned control of eight companies across several countries. Environment: Europe’s push to restore rivers is highlighted by North Macedonia’s first large-scale barrier removal, after a decades-old concrete structure in the Pčinja River was demolished.