2-day EU leaders’ summit begins in Brussels

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - A two-day EU leaders’ summit began on Thursday, with a focus on the war in Ukraine, economic competitiveness, and cooperation with the UN.

The 27 EU heads of state and government had a working lunch together with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

On the way to the meeting, Guterres said that the summit takes place in a “crucial moment” as a “perfect storm” deriving from a “combination of factors have led to a very dramatic situation” in developing countries with “more hunger, more poverty, less education, less public services.”

He urged the EU’s leadership to address these global challenges, and also work together in the fight against climate change.

- War in Ukraine

As the second item on the agenda, EU leaders will discuss the recent developments and the EU’s response to the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also join the summit via a video link.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters he will present to the leaders the agreement reached by foreign and defense ministers to supply “1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months.”

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas had suggested at the EU leaders’ summit in February to set up a joint procurement system for purchasing arms for Ukraine in a similar way the bloc supported the development of COVID-19 vaccines and secured the supply of jabs.

Later, the Estonian government developed the plan further and proposed to provide 1 million rounds of 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine.

Kallas told reporters on Thursday that she is “very, very happy” that her initiative was accepted by the other EU member states, but warned that the bloc must “continue working” to ensure the accountability of those responsible for “crimes of aggression” in Ukraine.

She argued that the UN must propose to set up an international tribunal in this regard.

- Economic affairs, green transition

After Ukraine, the leaders will focus on economic affairs, including plans to raise the bloc’s competitiveness, deepen the common market and support the green transition.

The EU heads of state and government are also supposed to talk about trade policy and the possible reform of the energy market.

On the way to the meeting, the leaders also commented on the rising tensions after Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria had been blocking the adoption of legislation banning combustion engines by 2035.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted again that his government did not block the legislation, and reassured that negotiations are “right on track” to include an exemption for biofuels.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni acknowledges the importance of green transition, but stressed that it is not the EU that should “decide which technologies to use to reach those objectives.”

At the same time, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins criticized the last-minute pressure from these countries, arguing that their maneuver challenges the rules of EU decision-making and is a “difficult sign for the future.”