EU leaders will gather in Brussels to address sanctions on Russian, US tariffs and Middle Eastern conflicts.
The heads of the 27 European Union member states will meet in Brussels to discuss harsher sanctions against Russia, how to prevent new, painful US tariffs, and how to hear their voices in conflicts in the Middle East.
Most of the leaders arrived at an event held from the short but intense NATO summit on Thursday, where they pledged a big boost to defence spending and wrote a paper on some of the differences with US President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky will be taking part in the EU summit through a video conference after meeting Trump on Wednesday.
US-led NATO downgraded Ukraine from a top priority to a side player this week, but the Russian war in Ukraine remains the most important concern for the EU.
Members will discuss the possibility of 18th sanctions against Russia and measure that some countries are opposed to whether to maintain the price cap for Russia’s oil as it could raise energy prices.
Meanwhile, Trump’s threatened tariffs have been overwhelmed by the EU, negotiating trade deals on behalf of all 27 countries. He accused Spain of not spending more on defense on Wednesday and proposed more tariffs. The French president criticized Trump for starting a trade war with his longtime allies.
European leaders are also concerned about fallout from wars in the Middle East, and the EU is pushing for a revival of diplomatic negotiations with Iran over a nuclear program.
EU members have internal disagreements to overcome. They are divided over what to do about European policy towards Israel because of their actions in the war with Gaza. And left-leaning parties are attacking away from EU climate leaders in support of European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen’s military investment.
Defense and security could be on the top of the agenda. The summit concludes with a statement of conclusions setting the agenda for the bloc for the next four months, and can be seen as a pioneer of European political sentiment on key regional and global issues.
