EU Summit Focuses on Ukraine Support, Budget, and Global Economy

The two-day summit is to focus on three topics: supporting Ukraine, the EU’s next long-term budget, and global economic challenges

Leaders agreed to extend sanctions on Russia by 12 months

The leaders also plan to discuss the challenging commercial relationship between the EU and China

Here is a roundup of the major news and analysis from the June 18 and 19 European Union summit.

Addressing an EU summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the future of Europe was being decided with the defense of Ukraine.

He also stressed that the best guarantee for the future would be to grant Kyiv fast-track EU membership.

"The future of Europe — free, united, and in peace — is being decided in our defense. That shows how unique our situation is," Zelenskyy said in excerpts of the address posted on X.

"The most important such step could be a fast-track path for Ukraine to join the EU," he added.

This week, the European Council agreed to open the first cluster of chapters in the accession negotiations with Ukraine. The goal now, according to an EU official, is to open all the other clusters as soon as possible.

The official said all the EU’s efforts go are aimed at strengthening Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia in view of future peace negotiations.

Zelenskyy, however, stressed that Europe's security depended on securing funding for Ukraine's military: "We need to provide long-term security guarantees for Europe, and that means long-term financial guarantees for the Ukrainian army."

He added that the EU and the "coalition of willing" countries supporting it could develop the financial instruments to ensure that funding.

On the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden called for a bigger EU role in Ukraine talks.

"I've always said we cannot leave it to the Americans to speak to Russia about Ukraine and Europe," he told reporters ahead of the summit.

But before reaching out to Russia, the EU needs to establish a common position, Frieden stressed, namely, "We stand on the side of Ukraine, we defend the fundamental principles of international law and the principles of the United Nations charter, that was obviously violated."

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rumen Radev said his country will veto the latest European Union package of sanctions against Russia because it may negatively impact Bulgaria's economy. The Bulgarian government is also vetoing over sanctions imposed on a Russian bishop.

"There is a significant risk to the operation of Lukoil," Radev, a pro-Russian euroskeptic who won a parliamentary election in April, told reporters. "We want Lukoil to be excluded from the list."

Russian Lukoil is one of the largest motor fuel retailers in Bulgaria and runs the country's sole refinery in Burgas.

However, Radev said that Bulgaria would not obstruct the EU's common decisions on Ukraine. "We will support the process of negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the EU," he said.

Several leaders who arrived at the EU summit in Brussels said there was no point in rushing into talks with Russia.

These remarks were made after an EU official announced on Wednesday that the office of European Council President Antonio Costa had had "brief contacts at diplomatic level" with the Kremlin.

"First of all, there has to be someone on the other side willing for peace," Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said. "Unfortunately no one wants peace on that side ... there is ​no point for contact if the other party (Russia) doesn't want (peace)."

"It is much better ​to step ‌in if we see some positive signals from Russia, showing that Russia is willing to start the peace negotiations, or they are willing for a ceasefire," Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters. "So far ‌I do not see any positive signals from Russia, so my question is what we ‌want ​to achieve."

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Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten also said that Russia was not showing any willingness to negotiate, adding that he did not believe peace talks could start soon.

"We do not have that impression at all from the Netherlands. We see that the Russians have not shown any serious interest recently," he said.

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said he wanted to keep the lines of communication open, no matter the level. However, even he was skeptical about Moscow's willingness to discuss peace.

"I do not have the impression that Russia, and President Putin in particular, is coming to the negotiating table to negotiate a peace solution," Stocker said.

Earlier this week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposed the idea of a single EU envoy to handle negotiations with Russia regarding Ukraine.

European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the EU summit.

"It's been a historic week for Ukraine. On Monday, we opened formally the negotiations of the first cluster. It's a very important step towards enlargement of the European Union and full accession of Ukraine to the European Union," Costa said.

Von der Leyen also congratulated Ukraine on opening the first cluster of negotiations. "You deserve it because you were working so hard to move forward to do the necessary reforms. We hope that during the summit we can open more clusters," she added.

"I have the impression that the tide is turning. We see that Ukraine is holding the line, even partially regaining the territory, and that Ukraine has a very strong moment," von der Leyen said.

Welcome to DW's coverage of the two-day summit of European Union leaders in Brussels, which is expected to focus on support for Ukraine, the EU’s next long-term budget, and global economic challenges.

The summit is expected to begin with a reception for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It will mark his first visit to Brussels since Viktor Orban, the former Hungarian prime minister and Zelenskyy's most prominent opponent within the EU, was voted out of office earlier this year.

On Thursday, EU leaders are expected to discuss some of the bloc's most pressing challenges, including its declining competitiveness, as well as broader global issues such as its strained commercial relationship with China.

The following day, they are planning to focus on the EU's next long-term budget, which is expected to be between €1 trillion ($1.15 trillion) and €2 trillion and will cover the period from 2028 to 2034.