European Council, clash over energy and common budget. Meloni insists on flexibility

First day of the summit in Brussels. Meloni, according to what we learn from Italian sources, raised the issue of flexibility during the debate on the energy crisis. European sources, however, have reiterated that the only extraordinary measures in place with "short-term" effect will be state aid, with the EU extending the temporary framework for energy. The 27 are also divided on ETS and the common budget: Costa will present a new proposal to attempt an agreement within the year

Divisions remain after the first day of the European Council, with a very busy agenda that will continue on Friday. The issue of high energy costs stands out: above all, the question of the revision of the ETS is dividing. Italy, then, continues its pressure to obtain greater fiscal flexibility, even if, we learn from qualified sources, the only extraordinary measures in place with "short-term" effect are state aid, on which the EU will extend the temporary framework for energy. At the moment Brussels does not plan further interventions. The 27 are also divided on the common budget: Costa will present a new proposal to attempt an agreement within the year. Ukraine and the Middle East are also on the table, which will be discussed specifically on Friday. On Kiev, "the important thing is that Europe has a spokesperson authorized to negotiate in the name and on behalf of the entire Union. In order to count more, Europe needs to have a spokesperson for everyone. The important thing is that this is decided quickly", said the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, on the sidelines of the EPP pre-summit in Brussels. Ukrainian President Zelensky already today, ahead of schedule, arrived at the Europa Building, headquarters of the Council.

New proposal on the EU budget from Costa

After divisions over the common budget, it has emerged that the President of the European Council Antonio Costa will present a new negotiating document on the EU budget for 2028-2034 in the coming weeks. The objective of reaching an agreement on the future budget by the end of the year remains confirmed. The details emerged after the discussion on the Multiannual Financial Framework.

Merz: "Sharply cut the EU budget"

"We have to significantly reduce the common budget compared to the proposals", because "no EU member state can afford to pay contributions of this amount", said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz upon his arrival at the summit, anticipating that the negotiations would be "very, very difficult".

Melons and the theme of flexibility

Divisions also remain over flexibility and energy. From what we learn from Italian sources, during the debate on the energy crisis, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni raised the issue of flexibility. The prime minister, the sources continue, raised the issue in the terms already explained in the letter to the president of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, highlighting how, in the context of fiscal rules, the executive must consider inflation as an external factor. According to Italian sources, during the debate between the 27 Meloni she was "openly" supported by her Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The energy issue: a compromise is being sought on ETS

The discussion on energy prices is difficult, as expected. What divides the 27 is the paragraph relating to the ETS system, among the most delicate points of the summit. On the one hand, Italy, Greece and the four Visegrad countries aim to soften the defense of the European CO₂ emissions trading mechanism. On the other hand, the Nordic countries lead the front against any step backwards on the European emissions market. Before the summit, the prime ministers of Finland, Denmark and Sweden had written to the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, calling the ETS "the main driver of this transition" and warning that weakening it would risk slowing down industrial decarbonisation and shifting the burden of reducing emissions to other economic sectors. To break the deadlock, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Spain presented a compromise proposal on energy-related conclusions. The text invites the European Commission to update the evaluation of ETS2, focusing in particular on its structure and related guarantees, so as to provide further guidance to Member States on their respective social climate plans. The wording eliminates the reference to a broader "assessment of the economic and social impact of the ETS", requested during the day by Italy, Greece and the four Visegrad countries.

In-depth analysis

Energy, Ukraine and the Middle East, the themes of the European Council

The other themes

There is also room for the issue of global macroeconomic imbalances. The topic of the afternoon, as mentioned, was the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF or MFF 2028-34). During dinner a "strategic" discussion on the enlargement of the Union and the reforms that must be made within it to welcome new members.

Rome and the Friends of Cohesion work as a platform to negotiate on the budget

In the morning, Meloni chaired a working lunch on the EU's multiannual budget 2028-2034 among the 17 countries of the "Friends of Cohesion" group. In parallel, another meeting of the so-called frugals was held: Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Finland and Belgium. Italy, according to what ANSA understands, is working on the creation of a common platform with the Friends of Cohesion with which to address the decisive phases of the negotiation on the multiannual EU budget. The platform contains points considered essential for an agreement. These include no to new budget cuts, support for the CAP and Cohesion not only in funding but also in application rules, no to rebates, the inclusion of balanced own resources. The negotiation, we learn, has brought out a fact: the new own resources have different economic impacts depending on the member countries.

Compared to this version, the additional text that emerges from the other article is above all the confirmation that the 17 Friends of Cohesion countries have drawn up a joint declaration with the conditions considered essential for the budget agreement. To complement it, I would add after the sentence about the creation of the common platform:

"During the meeting, a joint declaration was drawn up to establish the conditions considered essential for an agreement: sufficient resources to address shared priorities, protection of the CAP both in financing and in application rules, fair contributions from member states and opposition to discounts on national payments".

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The program of the second day and the presence of Zelensky

For the second day, however, we will start from the war in Ukraine: the leaders will listen to President Volodymyr Zelensky on the latest developments in the conflict. "I am already in Brussels with my team to participate in the European Council meeting and hold talks with our allies", the Ukrainian president said today via social media, who tomorrow will have "meetings with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, as well as with the prime ministers of Hungary, Finland and Sweden". But tomorrow there will also be space for the themes of defence, security and migration. At the end of the meeting there will be the final press conference with the presidents Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen.

Meloni-Moscow-White House tensions

Yesterday Prime Minister Meloni, in her communications to the Senate in view of the European summit, underlined that energy is "the issue that weighs most heavily on our economy today": "No one", she said, "can respond effectively alone". But there was also a distant back and forth between Meloni and Moscow on the agreement on Russian diesel reached by Trump and Putin. The Prime Minister said that "Trump's agreement is risky because it legitimizes Moscow". From the Kremlin, quickly, the reply: "It's not Meloni's business." And today another criticism came from Moscow to the European countries accused of having taken "a destructive position" on the agreement. Today the US response. “President Trump has successfully negotiated another major deal to supply the global market with massive amounts of diesel and lower prices,” a White House spokesperson says.

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Musk against Zelensky: "Go away, war in Ukraine a massacre"