EU summit opens with energy prices, budget fight and Ukraine on the agenda

European Union leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit. According to the Council's schedule, the day opens at 10 a.m. with an exchange with the European Parliament president, followed by working sessions and a news conference expected around 7:30 p.m. On Friday at 9:30 a.m., European Council President António Costa, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold a trilateral meeting before Zelenskyy addresses the leaders.

Energy prices top the agenda. Oil is above $100 a barrel and gas is at its highest level since the winter of 2022, Euronews reported. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis want fiscal rules relaxed so governments can fund "temporary and targeted measures." Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain proposed an EU-wide windfall tax on energy companies' excess profits, but the idea lacks sufficient support.

The fight over the 2028-2034 budget is also sharp. Ireland's Council presidency proposes cutting 141 billion euros from the 1.7 trillion-euro draft. The "frugals" — Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany — want deeper cuts, while the 17 "Friends of Cohesion" say the cuts already go too far. Irish minister Neale Richmond called the plan a "demonstration of what is actually realistic." Draft conclusions say the EU "regrets" the U.S. decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel.