European Council to Discuss Aid to Ukraine and EU Development Strategy for Five Years
At the European Council meeting on 27 and 28 June, EU leaders will discuss the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, the next institutional cycle, Ukraine, the Middle East, security and defence, competitiveness and other issues.
"EU leaders will discuss the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, the next institutional cycle, Ukraine, the Middle East, security and defence, competitiveness and other issues," reads an official statement on the European Council website.
The day before, in a letter of invitation to European leaders to participate in the summit, European Council President Charles Michel noted that the two-day European Council meeting would begin with a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"In concrete terms, our meeting will start on Thursday 27 June at 14.00 with an exchange (of views) with President Zelenskyy. This will provide us with an opportunity to discuss the situation on the ground, as well as to highlight some of the achievements since our last meeting," Michel said.
The main topic of the meeting will be the approval of the procedure for using the proceeds from Russian assets blocked in Europe to support Ukraine, including military assistance under the European Peace Fund.
The day before, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that Ukraine would receive the first tranche of €1.4 billion from the proceeds of the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank in July, and another €1 billion by the end of the year. 90 per cent of these extraordinary proceeds will be allocated to the European Peace Facility (EPF) for the direct purchase of military equipment for Ukraine, primarily air defence systems and ammunition.
EU leaders will also consider possible ways to unblock other transfers to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility, as currently "one country" is blocking legal documents on the implementation of the Ukrainian assistance fund under the EFF and the 8th tranche of EU military assistance totalling about €6 billion.
The participants of the Council of Europe meeting will also discuss ways to further draw international attention to efforts to establish a sustainable and just peace in Ukraine.
According to diplomatic sources, Ukraine and the EU may sign an agreement on security commitments today. As a senior EU official noted the day before, a "high-profile guest" is expected to arrive at the summit, although the time of arrival and the name of the guest have not been disclosed.