EU leaders are going to the summit: a security agreement with Ukraine, coordination of top positions and a strategic agenda with a focus on defense are expected
Kyiv • UNN
European Union leaders are due to agree on Thursday on the EU's strategic course and decide on the leaders of the bloc's institutions for the next five years, focusing on helping Ukraine resist Russia and strengthening the EU's own defense.
European Union leaders are due to agree on Thursday on the EU's strategic course and decide on the leaders of the bloc's institutions for the next five years, focusing on helping Ukraine resist Russia and strengthening its own defenses, Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
The leaders of the 27 EU countries are expected to kick off their two-day summit on June 27 by signing a security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to show their support for the country, which is now in its third year fighting a Moscow invasion.
EU leaders will reaffirm their promise to support Ukraine as long as necessary, stressing that "Russia must not win" and that Ukraine must return the lands annexed by Moscow, according to draft conclusions prepared for the summit.
They will also ask EU institutions to work out the details of a 50 billion euro loan for Ukraine, which will be serviced by profits generated from Russian central bank assets frozen in the West after the Moscow invasion.
The leaders also intend to agree on the EU's "strategic agenda" at the summit, which should include defense investments. According to the publication, this is a document that will let EU institutions know what European governments want them to focus their attention on during their term of office in 2024-2029.
In addition to defense, the draft strategic program, which was reviewed by Reuters, calls for increased EU competitiveness to better withstand economic pressure from China and the United States, as well as to prepare the bloc, which will include Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, for expansion.
The agenda also includes helping the next head of the European Commission, whose work will begin in October, prepare a work program. The bloc's 27 leaders are expected to nominate Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for a second term as president of the European Commission.
As part of a package agreed by three pro-European centrist political groups, former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will preside over the European Council of EU leaders, while Estonian prime minister Kaya Kallas will be head of foreign policy.
Three groups – the center-right, center-left, and liberals-have the necessary majority to approve the package at the summit. But there may still be some resistance, as Italian prime minister George Melanie and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticize the deal.
