Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Roberta Metsola flew together on a private plane from Brussels to attend an event in Luxembourg last week, an extraordinary, high-cost decision made due to scheduling constraints between the three presidents, a spokesperson for the Commission said today.

The trio were expected to appear jointly in the city to commemorate Europe Day.

The trip took place on Friday and saw the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament visit the Robert Schuman house, accompanied by Luxembourgish Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

The rationale for flying rather than driving to Luxembourg – roughly 200 km from Brussels – was mainly prompted by the appearance of Friedrich Merz, the new Chancellor of Germany, in the Belgian capital.

Merz chose Europe Day to make his first visit to Brussels since taking office. He met separately with Costa, von der Leyen and Metsola, in that order, and held press conferences with Costa and von der Leyen, taking questions from journalists.

The bilateral meetings stretched over the entire morning, leaving the three presidents with an extremely tight itinerary to move to Luxembourg City and attend the commemorative event, pencilled for early afternoon, at the same time.

The teams in Brussels then chose to ditch the car option and resort to air charter, the costs of which were shared among the three institutions.

“Due to the scheduling constraints of the three presidents and the prime minister, the only travelling option to allow all of them to attend the commemoration of the Schuman Declaration together and on time was to take a charter flight,” Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, said on Monday.

“This is the reason why, exceptionally, this was the option taken to get there.”

The offices of Costa and Metsola voiced a similar message.

The event in Luxembourg, hosted at the prime minister’s invitation to mark the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, started in the early afternoon and lasted about two hours. The four leaders visited the house where Robert Schuman, the French politician who delivered the declaration on 9 May 1950, grew up.

Schuman’s proposal to create a new authority to manage the production of coal and steel from France and West Germany paved the way for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and kick-started the project of European integration.

Luxembourg was one of the six founding members of the ECSC and served as host of the independent High Authority, the precursor of the European Commission. During Friday’s trip, the four leaders also visited the old seat of the High Authority.

Once the event was over, von der Leyen and Costa returned to Brussels using the rented plane while Metsola and her team flew commercial to Cyprus.

Although air flights are frequent for long-distance travel, using the same option for such a short-distance trip is likely to raise eyebrows, given the EU’s commitment to sustainability and the pressure from member states to control expenses.

DALLAS (AP) — Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, including on the tiebreaking goal by Alexander Petrovic that was finally confirmed after a lengthy review as the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Sunday to take 2-1 lead in the second-round Western Conference series.

Officials reviewed Petrovic’s goal for well over five minutes and while determining there was a kicking motion, the goal was good after the puck went off goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s stick and into the net with 16:09 left. That all came off the rebound of the initial a shot by Rantanen, who 49 seconds after play resumed scored his ninth goal of the playoffs — all coming in the last six games.

Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas.

Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist for the Stars, and Wyatt Johnston added a late goal. Sam Steel and Mikael Granlund each had two assists.

Rantanen, who has 18 points this postseason, had the primary assist on a power-play goal by Hintz only 2:27 in for a 1-0 lead. When Dallas scored again late in the first period for a 2-1 lead, Rantanen was on the ice for defenseman Thomas Harley’s goal, but the assists went to Granlund and Steel.

That ended Rantanen’s NHL playoffs-record streak of consecutive goals involved in at 13 in a row for the Stars since Game 5 of their first-round series against Colorado.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 23 shots. Hellebuyck, the odds-on favorite to win his third Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie, and also among three finalists for the Hart Trophy that goes to the MVP of the NHL regular season, dropped to 0-4 in road games this postseason after giving up the five goals on 26 shots.

Nino Niederreiter got Winnipeg even at 2 midway through the second period on his shot from the bottom of the right circle after Josh Morrissey made a nifty move to get around Stars center Colin Blackwell before making the pass for the score.

The Stars had gone ahead 2-1 late in the first after Niederreiter tripped Granlund, who slid with the puck along the boards behind the net and got his knees to swipe it to Harley in the slot.

Kyle Connor scored the first Winnipeg shot when he recovered a shot wide left of the net, then scored on a wraparound goal that got under Oettinger’s extended glove.

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Hamas claimed on Sunday that it would release American hostage Edan Alexander.

Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, has been held captive in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. 

“As part of the efforts made by the brotherly mediators to achieve a ceasefire, Hamas has been in contact with the U.S. administration in recent days,” a statement, translated into English from Arabic, from the terror organization said.

“The movement has shown a high level of positivity, and the Israeli soldier with dual American citizenship, [Edan] Alexander, will be released as part of the steps being taken toward a ceasefire, the opening of border crossings, and the entry of aid and relief for our people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement continued.

PALESTINIAN LEADER DEMANDS HAMAS RELEASE REMAINING HOSTAGES

It’s unclear when Alexander could be released.

Fox News learned that the United States had informed Israel of Hamas’s intention to release Alexander as “a gesture to Americans, without compensation or conditions.”

The United States told Israel that this move is “expected to lead to negotiations for the release of hostages,” according to the original framework, laid out by Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which Israel has already accepted.

PARENTS OF HAMAS HOSTAGES URGE TRUMP TO BE ‘TOUGH WITH ENEMIES AND FRIENDS’ AMID ISRAELI SIEGE IN GAZA

Donald Trump is seen posing with a photo of Edan Alexander on Oct. 7, 2024 in New York City.   (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

 Israel is preparing for the possibility that this move will be carried out.

According to Israeli policy, negotiations will take place under fire, with a commitment to achieving all the objectives of the war.

Khalil al-Hayya, who is Hamas’ political chief in Gaza, echoed the statement, reiterating “the movement has shown a high level of positivity” when speaking about the effort to free Alexander.  

GAZANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST HAMAS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS

“The Hamas movement affirms its readiness to immediately begin intensive negotiations and make serious efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war, exchange prisoners as mutually agreed upon, and manage the Gaza Strip by an independent, professional body, ensuring sustained calm and stability for many years, alongside reconstruction and ending the siege,” al-Hayya shared in a statement. 

Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel at 18 to volunteer for military service in the IDF’s Golani Brigade. He lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv and at Kibbutz Hazor, where he was part of a group of lone soldiers.

He was kidnapped on the morning of October 7 — a Saturday, he wasn’t required to remain on base. His mother was visiting from abroad, and like many lone soldiers, he had the option to go home for the weekend. But he chose to stay, not wanting to leave his comrades short-staffed on guard duty.

There are 59 hostages still in Gaza, at least 24 of whom are assessed to be alive, including American-Israeli Alexander, now 21 years old after having spent two birthdays in Hamas captivity.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters also released a statement following the announcement of Alexander’s potential release, saying that they “are embracing and supporting the Alexander family.”

Yael Alexander, the mother of hostage Edan Alexander, speaks during The  ‘Run for Their Lives’ rally and run in Central Park on the 100th day since the October 7 attack by Hamas, on Jan. 14, 2024 in New York City.  (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

“Should this release be confirmed, the release of Edan Alexander must mark the beginning of a comprehensive agreement that will secure the freedom of all remaining hostages,” the statement read. 

“President Trump, you’ve given the families of all the hostages hope. Please, complete your mission and bring them all home.” 

Several days ago, President Trump marked his 100th day in office, and the families of the five Americans still held hostage urged him to reflect on his strategy and apply pressure on both Israel and Hamas, through both economic and diplomatic means, to secure the release of all 59 hostages.

While there is evident frustration among the families of the hostages, who have made clear the Israeli government has not offered anywhere near the same level of support or communication provided by both the Biden and Trump administrations, they said that, ultimately, the adversary is the terrorist organization that captured, in some instances, and continues to hold captive their loved ones. 

“Prime Minister Netanyahu must immediately fulfill the supreme moral obligation — and the demand of the vast majority of the Israeli public — to bring everyone back: the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial in our country,” the organization said. “No one should be left behind.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.