The focus of the meeting is the financial support of Ukraine and EU dumping of Ukrainian grain.

The EU summit in Brussels started on Thursday afternoon, the focus of the discussion of the leaders of the European Council is on further support for Ukraine, security and defense, the situation developing in the Middle East, enlargement, foreign relations, migration, agriculture.

In his Facebook post on Thursday, Viktor Orbán pointed out in connection with the summit: the most important issue will be the issue of Ukrainian grain.

"Ukraine dumping is slowly destroying European and Hungarian farmers. The Hungarian position is clear: we must protect our farmers!"

At the two-day EU summit, the heads of state and government of the European Union member states will participate in a working lunch with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. delivery will be advocated.

Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, emphasized in his letter of invitation to the leaders of the member states: a sustainable ceasefire is urgently needed in order to protect the civilian population, enable the safe return of hostages and ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered to the required destination.

A just and comprehensive solution must be sought between Israelis and Palestinians, in which Israel and a democratic, independent and viable Palestinian state live side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition.

The leaders of the member states will discuss the issue of further aid to help Ukraine in response to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Further EU political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine is expected to be strengthened. The EU and its member states have so far provided more than 138 billion euros in aid to Ukraine.

According to Charles Michel, the most important task now is the rapid delivery of military aid and the accelerated procurement and delivery of ammunition to Ukraine.

The leaders will advocate for the effective implementation and enforcement of the sanctions imposed against Russia so far, as well as discuss the possibilities of using profits from Russian assets held in European banks and then frozen due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the proposal of the European Commission, the profit of the frozen Russian assets, amounting to about three billion euros per year, should be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine and the strengthening of the country's military industrial base.

EU leaders will discuss security and defence, including enhancing Europe's defense preparedness, strengthening the EU's defense technological and industrial base, and increasing the resilience and competitiveness of the defense industry. Based on the report of the European Commission, the leaders will also review the European defense industrial strategy and the European defense investment program.

The leaders of the member states will discuss the EU enlargement policy, including the reforms initiated by Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine and Moldova.

At their December meeting, the members of the European Council gave the green signal for the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Negotiations can start after the countries take the appropriate steps as defined in the EU Commission's enlargement report. The leaders also expressed their readiness to start accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina when the country sufficiently met the membership criteria.

The leaders of the member states will discuss issues related to migration, including the status of partnerships with countries of origin and transit, efforts to address the root causes of migration, steps taken to create a legal environment for legal migration, the possibilities of measures aimed at effective control of the EU's external borders, increasing the return of expelled migrants and action against human trafficking and human smuggling.

Finally, the European Council will hold discussions on how the EU should respond to the demands made by agricultural producers.

On the second day of the meeting, Friday, the leaders of the member states will participate in a eurozone summit, where they will discuss the economic situation, exchange opinions on policy coordination, and review the report issued by the Eurogroup on the future of the capital market union.

MTI

Cover image: The EU summit has begun
Source: Facebook/Viktor Orbán