European Council to approve new leaders, discuss major global challenges

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The European Council will convene on June 27-28 in Brussels to approve the next leaders of the top three European Union posts and discuss major global challenges.

“This will be a particularly significant meeting, as we face both a substantive agenda and critical decisions that will shape our path forward,” said current Council President Charles Michel in an invitation letter he sent to its members.

“Among these decisions, three stand out in particular: first, we will adopt the Strategic Agenda. True to its role under the Treaties, the European Council will frame the EU’s priorities and set the EU’s strategic orientations for the next five years, thereby guiding the work of the next institutional cycle. Second, we will determine the way ahead on internal reforms, and thirdly, we will agree on the institutional appointments,” he said.

“The leaders will discuss the EU’s comprehensive support for Ukraine, in particular military support. In this context, they will discuss initiatives launched by member states regarding ammunition and missiles and support under the European Peace Facility,” said a statement on the European Council’s website.

Regarding the Israel-Hamas war, the council will reiterate its call for the full implementation of the terms of a cease-fire proposal set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2735 and for respecting and implementing the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding Israel.

EU leaders will also reiterate their call for the release of all hostages in Gaza and an increase in humanitarian assistance to its people as well as their commitment to sustainable peace based on the two-state solution.

They will also discuss ways to increase the EU’s overall defence preparedness and capability and enhance its economic competitiveness as well as the management of irregular migration.

The Politico news outlet reported the six EU leaders negotiating the bloc’s top jobs have agreed that Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, Portugal’s Antonio Costa and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas should get the most senior positions at the European Commission, European Council and foreign policy service, citing unnamed EU officials.

It said the six negotiators are Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

It also said that Italy is likely to be given a senior portfolio in the next European Commission.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban reacted to the reports of a deal being reached on the EU’s top posts.

“The deal that the (conservative) European People’s Party made with the leftists and the liberals runs against everything that the EU was based on. Instead of inclusion, it sows the seeds of division,” he said on X.

“EU top officials should represent every member state, not just leftists and liberals!”