10 months ago
42
Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Charles Michel meet Hungarian leader in bid to prevent Budapest blocking key decision
Leaders are arriving at the summit this morning with the heavy lifting due to start more or less straight away.
The European Council has deliberately placed the most complicated issues at the top of the agenda: the proposed €50bn for Ukraine, followed by enlargement.
Expect these topics to take most of the day with all eyes on Hungary but also other states that are looking for assurances that Ukraine is not simply being fast tracked into the EU.
If the 27 members cannot unanimously agree on the fund for Ukraine, 26 member states are prepared to find an alternative mechanism to provide the money - but the preference is very much to do it through the EU with checks and balances on disbursements and expenditure already built in.
Following the Ukraine facility comes the issue of enlargement, then the revision of the bloc’s seven-year budget, known as the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.
These subjects could well spill into tomorrow.
The remainder of the agenda is:
Middle East
Security and defence
Migration
Hybrid attacks by Russia
Fight against anti-Semitism
Continue reading...