EU leaders open the door for outsourcing migration as they call for 'new ways' to curb arrivals

Leaders have exited the building, as have the vast majority of the journalists so we will follow suit and head home after a very long day but blessedly short summit.

If you still need another summit fix, here are our two main takeaway pieces:

• EU leaders endorse migration outsourcing but offer few details
• EU leaders converge on Israel, but calls for trade sanctions still fall flat

Good night!

Although the migration situation remains "unfortunate," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed optimism that the EU will explore new, long-term solutions following today’s European Council.

Speaking to reporters, Frederiksen said: "I've been a member of the European Council for more than five years, and only now do I see the majority of leaders agreeing: We cannot continue like this. The numbers are too high.”

“I am open-minded. I think we can protect more people outside the EU than inside for the same amount of people,” she added, echoing earlier comments from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer expressed satisfaction following an EU summit, describing it as "a paradigm shift in migration policy".

Speaking to reporters as he was leaving, Nehammer emphasised that the new approach will set new standards for managing migration such as faster asylum procedures and a redefined concept of safe third countries.

Nehammer also highlighted Austria's two-year struggle to find allies on this issue at the EU level. “We have now succeeded in forming a group of 18 allies, reaffirming that migration policy belongs at the core of European policy,” he said.

He stressed that this coalition is not defined by party-political ideology but is diverse, spanning figures like Denmark’s social democrat Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Italy’s conservative premier Giorgia Meloni, and Poland’s centre-right Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Looking ahead, Nehammer called for greater cooperation with third countries, citing Italy’s “courageous path” in partnering with Albania as an example. He praised Meloni as a “constructive ally,” who has successfully created incentives for third countries to collaborate, as EU member states cannot force them to do so.

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his opposition to the EU-Mercosur trade deal saying that "as it stands (it) is not an acceptable treaty".

"We are calling for substantial compliance with the Paris agreements, mirror clauses and the protection of European interests, industries and farmers, because it's a question of a level playing field."

"And in the same way that we supported the Commission when it protected our car industry against distortion of competition from Chinese electric vehicles, we support the fact that for our farmers and our manufacturers there must be no distortion of competition, we must play by the same rules.

"Today, that's not the state of the discussion," he added.

Emmanuel Macron said that although the EU has pledged to commit as much as €35 billion as part of a €45 billion ($50 billion) loan for Ukraine with G7 allies, the "fair share is $20 billion".

"The share of the $50 billion was, in fact, $20 billion for the Europeans, $20 billion for the Americans, and $10 billion for the other members of the G7," the French leader told reporters.

"My hope is that we'll end up with $20 because we'll have given ourselves enough visibility" by reducing uncertainties over the extension of sanctions on Russia that keep its central bank's assets in the EU immobilised and allow for the use of windfall profits for the loan.

"I think it's important that everyone does their fair share, especially, if I may remind you, that the mechanism and these financial conditions were proposed by the Americans themselves," he added.

Macron said the money will be used by Ukraine for its budget, its reconstruction and to procure military equipment and expressed the wish that "the Europeans' share be used to buy European equipment because that's what the others are doing".

Hungary is vetoing the proposed extension of the sanction renewal period from six to 36 months until after the US election to be held on November 5.

"One thing very clear from today's discussion was that our support for Ukraine is unwavering and will continue for as long as necessary," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a presser after the summit.

She pointed out that this support extends beyond military aid, highlighting the importance of energy assistance to "keep the lights on and homes warm during the winter."

With Russia having destroyed around 75% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, von der Leyen noted that EU member states are now providing reverse energy flows to help Ukraine.

"We are doing everything possible to decentralise the energy supply, as it becomes much harder for Russia to target, for example, solar panels, and much easier for Ukraine to defend decentralised energy production," she added.

The Commission President told reporters leaders had discussed "reviewing" the concept of a "safe third country."

This definition helps define whether a migrant who reaches the EU is eligible to claim asylum or not.

But the Commission chief also suggested that re-hashing the definition of a safe third country could be linked to her vision for "return hubs", in which asylum applications would be processed in territories outside the EU.

"Protection does not have to be in the European Union only, you can also have protection in safe third countries," she said.

The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday by Israeli forces is "a turning point as well as a military success for Israel," French President Emmanuel Macron said during his end-of-summit press conference.

He also said that "this opportunity must be seized so that all hostages are released and the war is stopped", calling on both sides to "accept the ceasefire in Gaza and finally open up a credible political perspective" for both peoples that would include a two-state solution.

Macron also reiterated his call for the Palestinian Authority to be reformed and for an increase in humanitarian operations and for settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territories to cease.

An earlier gathering of 11 'like-minded' EU leaders to discuss new ways to tackle irregular migration included the leaders of Denmark, Slovakia and Malta, who belong to the centre-left European political family of Spanish premier Sánchez, who has firmly rejected some of the new ideas endorsed by those countries.

It's another sign that the migration issue cuts across party lines.

"The geographic situation of a country" sometimes influences stances on migration issues more than "party politics" does, Sánchez told journalists.

"I can feel closer to Mediterranean countries than those belonging to my political family on this issue," he said.

The news of Israel's assassination of Sinwar broke while EU leaders were holding talks in Brussels.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Sinwar was the "mastermind" behind the 7 October attacks and responsible for the "killings, the massacres, the rapes and the kidnappings" of Israeli civilians.

His death would "significantly weaken Hamas," she added.

European Council President Charles Michel said Sinwar was both responsible for the 7 October attacks and the "suffering of people in Gaza."

Macron lashed out on Thursday evening at “ministers”, “journalists” and “commentators” who, he said, distorted his comments and “weaken France”.

Macron was reported earlier this week of having told a closed-door meeting of ministers that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “not ignore United Nations decisions”.

“Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a UN decision,” he was reported as saying.

The Israeli leader immediately condemned the comments, riposting in a statement: “A reminder to the president of France: It was not the U.N. resolution that established the State of Israel, but rather the victory achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors — including from the Vichy regime in France.”

Macron told reporters on Thursday he was "astonished" to read the comments he was thought to have said. "I think I've said enough about the situation in the Middle East not to need a ventriloquist."

"There's no ambiguity," he added. "France has always stood by Israel"

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has told reporters in Brussels he senses that countries traditionally steadfast in their support to Israel are finding it increasingly difficult to defend its actions.

"Yes, I sense, I see that those countries that have been most vocal in defending Israel are finding increasing difficulties in defending Israeli actions and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu," Sánchez said.

The prime minister also said he and the Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris had called once more on EU leaders to hold a council to revise the EU-Israel trade deal, known as the Association Agreement, in order for the bloc to use its economic leverage to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel.

EU leaders agreed on a raft of steps to "strengthen" their comprehensive approach to migration, according to European Council President Charles Michel. They include "partnerships with countries of origin and transit" and "effective return policies."

Leaders have managed to agree on written conclusions on their discussion on migration, despite several countries preferring not to summarise the talks in writing according to diplomats.

German Chancellor is checking the amendments to the migration section that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has proposed, sources tell Euronews.

Closing the migration chapter is key to bringing the EU summit to an end.

EU leaders are continuing talks over food. Their dinner features a vegetable terrine as the entrée while the main course is a fillet of sea bass accompanied by cep mushrooms, followed by a dessert of coffee and raspberries.

The 27 EU leaders are enjoying dinner while the team of European Council President Charles Michel drafts a new chapter of the conclusions devoted to migration policy.

The draft leaked earlier this week was one page long and touched upon several issues, such as cooperation with non-EU countries, acceleration of deportations and promotion of "safe and legal" pathways to bring in additional workers. It also referred to "new ways" to curb irregular migration, an euphemism for outsourcing.

A diplomat predicted that if the new chapter is shorter than the one previously proposed, the summit might soon be over. If it's equally long or even longer, negotiations will re-start. At any rate, the focus is on Poland, the country that has pushed the most against having written conclusions on migration. Spain, by contrast, is the one described as pushing the hardest to have wording on paper.

No EU leader voiced concerns over Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum in response to the situation on the border with Belarus, despite Brussels explicitly stating it goes against EU law, according to two diplomatic sources.

Tusk made a "long intervention" to fellow EU leaders on the situation on the border, according to one of the diplomats, in which he explained his government had received intelligence Russia was flying irregular migrants into Moscow before busing them to the border with Belarus.

The Polish prime minister also explicitly referenced a Finnish bill passed in July allowing border guards to turn away asylum seekers crossing from Russia, according to one of the diplomats.

While the European Commission has suggested Tusk's plans are contrary to EU law, the Polish government is citing a serious risk to national security, as Russia uses hybrid warfare techniques to destabilise Europe.

This is the million-dollar question this week in Brussels.

While the term "return hub" has now officially entered the EU lexicon, what the project exactly means in practice is far from clear. Ahead of today's summit, diplomats indicated they have not yet seen any "detailed" plan or blueprint, so anybody's guess is valid at this point.

Under this new plan, the thinking goes, the EU would set up brand-new facilities in non-EU countries to transfer asylum seekers whose applications have been turned down (for instance, because they were economic migrants, rather than refugees). This is the last process of the asylum procedure when the migrant loses the appeal and the deportation process begins. Once transferred, the migrants would wait inside the hubs until one non-EU country (ideally, their country of origin) accepts to have them back. The last step would be to send that migrant to the country that has consented.

On paper, this might seem straightforward, but a plethora of questions remain unanswered, such as:

• Where would these hubs be located?
• How much would it cost to build and manage a hub for all EU countries?
• Who would manage the hub? National authorities or EU officials?
• Under which jurisdiction would the hubs be governed?
• How long would migrants wait inside the hubs?
• What would happen to the migrants if deportation is never carried out?
• Would the plan be compatible with international law?

The conversation has only just begun.

EU leaders are having an "emotional" but not controversial discussion on migration, an EU official with knowledge of the process said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk kicked off talks by presenting his new plan to introduce a "temporary territorial suspension" of asylum rights to cope with the migration flows instrumentalised by Belarus. After that, other leaders took the floor and spoke about their national experiences dealing with a high number of asylum applications.

The debate was described as "long and substantive" and is expected to continue, at least for the time being. The controversial project of setting up "return hubs" was mentioned, as well as the intention to fast-track parts of the comprehensive reform the bloc completed in May.

A "broad" group of leaders expressed support for the draft conclusions on migration, which refers to cooperation with non-EU countries, acceleration of deportations and promotion of "safe and legal" pathways to bring in additional workers, among other things.

However, the approval of this chapter is not guaranteed as a handful of countries oppose any wording on migration.

During migration talks, Italy raised concerns about Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon, according to a diplomatic source. Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, emphasized "the need to create the conditions for a safe, dignified, and voluntary return of Syrian refugees to Syria, as defined by the UNHCR," the source said.

Another diplomatic source suggested Meloni’s speech focused more on improving returns in general with less specific references to Syria.

In July, Italy along with Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia and Slovakia, presented a non-paper proposing that certain areas in Assad-controlled Syria could be considered safe for the voluntary return of Syrian nationals currently in Lebanon.

The issue was also addressed at the recent Med9 Summit in Cyprus, where participants noted that thousands of Syrian refugees and tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens are fleeing the region amid the conflict.

Other sources suggested Meloni's comments reflect growing concerns that unless refugees return to Syria, many could end up in Europe.

This proposal would require a revision of the EU's Syria strategy and designating only parts of the country as safe, which remains contentious due to the Assad regime. Italy and other nations advocate for the UNHCR to play a central role in setting standards for these returns, calling for political and financial support through significant investment in immediate assistance.

The attitude of Israel is becoming "less and less acceptable" to EU leaders in the room, according to an EU official close to the discussions.

This is the first time leaders meet since Israel spread its offensive to southern Lebanon, where multiple attacks against UN peacekeeping troops (UNIFIL) have been reported.

Several member states, including those considered supportive of Israel’s operations, such as Austria, have condemned the attacks on UNIFIL, to which 16 EU countries contribute personnel and military forces.

In a video published on his X account while leaders are still deep in negotiations, the Hungarian far-right leader shared his opinion on today's major agenda topics.

In the post Orban described President Zelenskyy's 'victory plan' and the use of long-range weapons as terrifying.

On migration, he claimed Hungary is being punished despite protecting the EU's external borders.

He concluded by criticising the economic conclusions the Council will take, which he says would endanger Hungarian families—despite the fact that discussions on Europe's competitiveness haven't yet begun, and the conclusion is scheduled to take place in two weeks in Budapest.

By Maria Psara

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides is in favour of more strategic agreements with third countries on migration, arguing that the one with Lebanon has delivered results.  

Asked by Euronews about the so-called "innovative solutions" and the return hubs, he said that Cyprus is "ready to look at all options outside the box in line with international humanitarian law".

"In this effort that we are making, the UNHCR should be with us to ensure that what we are doing is within the law. And believe me, there are options that, yes, will help on the one hand to address this great challenge, always within the framework of international legitimacy” 

Cyprus is one of the first EU countries pushing for normalisation of relations with Syria in order to facilitate the return of refugees.  

But the Cypriot President stressed nonetheless: "I'm not talking about the Assad regime where our positions are common."

"But that cannot prevent us from discussing the possibility of Syrians returning to their country. But for these people to return there has to be infrastructure, if there are no hospitals, if there are no schools, no roads, these people cannot return”.  

The interview took place a few hours after Christodoulides took part in a trilateral meeting with the UN Secretary -General and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, as part of the effort to resume negotiations on the divided island seven years after Cyprus talks in Crans-Montana ended without a peace and reunification deal. 

“The content of the solution also affects the EU," Christodoulides stressed.

"If we have a state that cannot function internally, it will not be able to function when it comes to Brussels, with many of the cases even creating a problem in Brussels. And secondly the common EU position is that we all want to see progress in Euro-Turkish relations. This progress also goes through the Cyprus problem,” he said.  

Cyprus has been divided since Turkey's 1974 invasion. 

If you're wondering how long the EU summit will last, as many are, a clue might be gleaned from Italian sources pointing out that Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni is expecting to catch a flight back to il Bel Paese and leave at 8 pm to deal with a heavy travel schedule.

Meloni will be in Jordan's Aqaba at noon tomorrow for a meeting with King Abdallah II, and in the afternoon she's set to fly to Beirut to meet her Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati.

Although talks among leaders could continue without Meloni, many in the Council building think this unlikely considering the key role Italy plays in the topics under discussion, such as migration.

Only two EU leaders, Spain's Pedro Sánchez and Belgium's Alexander de Croo, have so far firmly rejected the idea of establishing migrant 'return hubs' outside the EU, as floated by von der Leyen.

De Croo told reporters on Thursday that the centres were expensive and ineffective.

“History has shown that these solutions don't bring much in the way of results,” he said.

A Spanish government spokesperson rejected the idea on Tuesday, shortly after von der Leyen pitched the idea in a letter to EU leaders.

The Council reiterates its support for Ukraine and reaffirms its commitment to assist the country economically, financially, militarily, and with humanitarian aid to defend its territorial integrity. They call for the acceleration of arms deliveries. 

The conclusions approve €35 billion in loans, made possible through frozen Russian assets. The EU reiterates its support for Ukraine's reconstruction—a discussion on the topic will take place during the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in Italy in July 2025. 

The Council condemns Russian attacks on civilian and commercial infrastructure, as well as the executions of prisoners of war. 

There was only a vague mention of Ukraine’s accession to the EU: "The European Union will continue to work closely with Ukraine and support its efforts on the European path." 

As EU leaders discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, the Israeli Defence Forces reported that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been "highly likely" killed in Gaza on Thursday.

The IDF said in a joint statement with Shin Bet, the Israeli Security Agency, that the identities of the three militants killed had not been confirmed so far, but it was “checking the possibility” that one of them was Sinwar.

Sinwar, who is believed to have been the mastermind of the deadly 7 October attack on Israel, became the leader of Hamas in Gaza after replacing Ismail Haniyeh following his assassination in Tehran in August.

Hamas leader Sinwar ‘highly likely’ killed in Gaza, Israeli army says

Sinwar, who is believed to have been the mastermind of the 7 October attack on Izrael, became the leader of Hamas in Gaza after replacing Ismail Haniyeh……

Euronews journalist, Sasha Vakulina, described the NATO’s dimension of the five-point proposal of the Ukrainian president in an article today. She retraced Ukraine’s path to NATO accession and what’s hampering their way forward. 

More on the story here ⬇️ 

Zelenskyy’s ‘victory plan’: What’s the deal with Ukraine and NATO?

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented Ukraine’s much-anticipated ‘victory plan’ at the parliament in Kyiv on Thursday. What is in there, what isn’t,……

The leaders of Denmark, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic have held a meeting on the sidelines of the summit and decided to further support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression by providing more military assistance to the country. 

“We have jointly managed to deliver large quantity of tanks, howitzers, BMPs [light tanks] and mobile firing units, passive surveillance systems, electronic warfare units, and tens of thousands of NATO standard rifles,” reads the joint statement. 

The three countries are funding large-calibre ammunition with the aim of supplying 500,000 shells under the so-called 'Ammunition Initiative', which they hope to continue in 2025. 

"Our assistance to Ukraine must not stop at the end of this year," the trio said, adding that it was essential to continue the bloc's long-term commitment to Ukraine while sending a clear message to Russia that "time is not on its side". 

EU leaders have started talks on the main topic of today's summit: migration policy. The debate is expected to be long and explosive, as heads of state and governments are all eager to take the floor and defend their proposals. In particular, those related to outsourcing.

A key plan on the table is the establishment of so-called "return hubs" outside the EU to transfer asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected. Many questions about how this will work in practice remain unanswered but support for the project has rapidly spread across the political spectrum, even reaching the president of the European Commission.

Ursula von der Leyen has said the success (or failure) of the Italy-Albania protocol, which began operations this week, could very well determine the next chapter of the EU migration policy.

Leaders also want to discuss possibilities to use visa, trade and development policies as leverage to convince non-EU countries to take back their nationals after being turned down by the bloc. Another idea high on the list is a revision of the "safe country" concept to enable deportations to places where now it is difficult or downright impossible.

For his part, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk will outline the main elements of his new strategy against instrumentalised migration that features a "temporary" and "territorial" suspension of the right to asylum, something that Brussels has warned would contravene EU and international law.

The renewed push for outsourcing is vehemently opposed by humanitarian organisations, who fear it will undermine the asylum process, lead to unfair decisions and fuel violations of fundamental rights.

"These controversial proposals seek to dismantle the core tenet of international protection: that people under a jurisdiction have a right to seek asylum in that jurisdiction and have that claim fairly examined," a coalition of 90 NGOs said in July.

After his closed-door meeting with EU leaders and his press conference at the Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at the European Parliament. He was received by President Roberta Metsola and is expected to hold talks with the chairs of political groups.

"Last time you were here at (the Parliament), I promised you our unwavering support in your country’s path towards EU membership," Metsola wrote on social media.

"Today I am proud to welcome you to the House of European Democracy as a leader of an EU candidate country. Ukraine is Europe."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received "majority support" from the EU countries for his victory plan, which includes calls for permission to use long-range weapons into Russian territory.

We had a "very frank" conversation and "the majority of those who took the floor were expressing full support" to that plan, Zelenskyy said.

But, he said, the "weakness of Ukraine is translating into strength of Russia".

On the use of long-range missiles, Zelenskyy says that he "got positive signals" but criticised the fact that countries such as the US, UK, France etc. want to decide together regarding permission to use the missiles into Russian territory.

"These countries want to achieve unanimity among themselves in order to give this possibility of using long-distance missiles to Ukraine," he said.

He called on them – especially the US - to respond positively to the Ukrainian plea.

"This is not a very transparent or simple situation. I hope you understand we would, as the main donor, the United States, the main donor of Ukrainian defence, that this response should be positive," he said.

Zelenskyy on Thursday reiterated his call for NATO to extend an invitation to the war-torn country to become a full-fledged member, arguing that it would provide Ukrainians with “reassurances, with hope”.

“Weapons are important but the most important is people,” he said. “NATO, this is a security umbrella for us, it works, it is reliable and it is, in practice, the only hope for us,” he added. 

“Words and actions should go together and this is why invitation to NATO is not at all crossing any red line,” he said. 

“(The) invitation is a preventive step to show that it’s not Putin that is changing the world” and that “the aggressor cannot create new international order,” he added. 

Zelenskyy also told reporters he has discussed Ukraine's membership of the military alliance with outgoing US President Joe Biden and the two candidates vying to succeed him, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. 

“I said my arguments and he (Trump) said that he did agree with my arguments,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader was scheduled to head to the NATO headquarters on Thursday afternoon where a two-day summit of the alliance's defence ministers is being held.

EU leaders are having lunch while they discuss their joint response to the Middle East crisis. This means the chapter devoted to Ukraine is officially closed.

The talks will touch upon the Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the release of Israeli hostages, and the conflict in southern Lebanon. Member states are expected to voice strong condemnation of the Israeli attacks against UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission to which 16 EU countries contribute troops. Even Austria, a staunch advocate of Israel, has expressed its displeasure.

"Such attacks constitute a grave violation of international law and are totally unacceptable. These attacks must stop immediately," reads a draft of the conclusions seen by Euronews.

"The European Council recalls that all actors have an obligation to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times."

Still, member states remain split on the Middle East and leaders will probably see a new struggle to calibrate the wording of the final text, particularly the criticism voiced at Israel.

A question about Viktor Orbán was inevitable during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's press conference.

After all, the Hungarian premier is blocking €6.6 billion in EU military assistance and a key legislative element of a €35 billion loan for Ukraine, which is part of a G7 initiative.

But Zelenskyy kept things diplomatic. "I have met him at the table (alongside) the other leaders. We have greeted each other and that's already good," he said, replying to a Euronews question.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists that his intelligence services found that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained to join the Russian sources.

"Officers of North Korean army is already on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies," he added.

"This is the first step to a world war," he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy started his address to European leaders by thanking them for their support so far: "Your unity is also a weapon that means for all us safety.”

Talking about the Victory Plan, the Ukrainian leader said that it offers the response to the question on how to make Russia ready for real diplomacy and ready for peace - he expressed his wish to present it to Russia during a future Peace Summit.

However, he also highlighted that currently his war-torn nation is "trying to boost the capacity to match (the military) production capability of the EU."

“We need to bring the war back in Russia for Russians to see what war is really like and hate Putin for it,” Zelenskyy said.

He also called for Ukraine's NATO membership bid to progress, arguing it would be a "decisive move against Russia's strategy".

Europe must protect those who need protection, but not every person can come to the EU, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. 

“We must be able to choose who comes according to our rules,” Scholz added, stressing that reducing irregular migration is a prerequisite for the openness that the continent needs. 

Last month, in a much-criticised move, Germany reintroduced land border controls for six months, effectively putting a land border hold on Schengen, the free-movement zone in Europe.

“We [Germany] will continue to use the options we have to increase efficiency,” Scholz said, adding: “Tackling the problem is probably the best thing to do". 

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy welcomed Ukraine’s Victory Plan, adding, “We need to make the link between the Victory Plan and the Peace Plan to both win the war and the peace.”

He stressed Ukraine's urgent need for support as winter approaches, particularly given the increasing destruction of the country’s electricity infrastructure.

“I hope that, finally, before the end of my mandate, I will get an agreement to unblock the payment of the European Peace Facility and provide more military support to Ukraine," he also said.

Addressing Israel, he condemned its undermining of the United Nations and the attacks on UN peacekeepers, and expressed hope that the Council would follow with a strong condemnation.

What is the European Peace Facility and why Hungary is blocking the disbursements to Ukraine

European Union officials are looking for ways to bypass Hungary’s veto on the military assistance for Ukraine disbursed through the European Peace Facility……

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters upon arrival that his Victory plan is meant “to strengthen Ukraine to be strong and be ready to diplomacy (sic).”

“It’s great, I think, that this plan doesn’t depend on Russian will, only on the will of our partners and this gives opportunity to make this plan real,” he added.

The Ukrainian President also welcomed the EU’s willingness to put forward as much as €35 billion of the €45 billion loan the G7 plans to issue to assist Kyiv by using windfall profits from immobilised Russian assets.

He said Ukraine needs money “as soon as possible” to boost domestic production of weapons and reconstruction. 

He also reiterated his call for EU member states to allow Ukraine to use their donated weapons to strike military targets in Russia.

“Now we need to move some partners forward and I think only with the unity in EU we can move, and not only EU leaders but other leaders,” he said. 

Standing by his side, European Council President Charles Michel said Ukraine’s partners “have to be consistent” by providing “more military equipment, more technologies so Ukraine is in a position to defend itself”.

“Your destiny, the future of Ukraine is within the EU,” Michel also said.

The EU summit has officially begun.

The first item on the agenda is support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion, with President Volodymyr Zelenskky in attendance. Zelenskyy is expected to present his "Victory Plan" to the 27 leaders.

Once the discussion is over, Zelenskyy will hold a press conference.

The start of the summit was delayed due to a bilateral meeting between the Ukrainian leader and European Council President Charles Michel.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press.

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has called for "European-level legislation against instrumentalised migration," which the country has suffered at the hands of the Kremlin.

Speaking to the press, Orpo said he "understands" the new migration strategy unveiled by his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, that proposes a "temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum" to cope with the migration flows artificially pushed by Belarus and Russia.

The Polish strategy is inspired by the emergency law that Orpo's government introduced in July, which has been criticised for curbing the right to asylum and for legalising pushbacks.

"I very much understand Poland, Donald Tusk's proposal (on) how to secure the border against instrumentalised migration from Russia and Belarus," Orpo told reporters upon arriving at the summit.

"We had the same phenomenon in our border one year ago and we did our national legislation but it's not a sustainable solution. We need European-level legislation against instrumentalised immigration."

Orpo said the bloc needed to implement the asylum reform completed in May, improve its deportation policy, reinforce cooperation with "countries of origin and transit" and "strengthen our border security by building infrastructure like fences."

The EU's Migration Pact must be fully implemented, but the bloc must also look at "innovative solutions" to curb illegal migration, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof told reporters ahead of the summit.  

"We need to see together what the next steps are that we can take, and we are mainly looking together for these innovative solutions. It just takes some time to get it right on paper," Schoof said.

The Dutch prime minister does not expect any concrete agreements on migration today, but rather advance work with aligned member states such as Italy or Denmark, who met separately this morning to discuss alternative solutions to speed up returns.  

The bilateral agreement between Albania and Italy, or the possible Dutch plan to deport asylum seekers from African countries to Uganda who have exhausted all legal avenues, could serve as starting points for the real discussion.  

"I think these are innovative solutions that colleagues are basically interested in. They are, of course, ideas that fit with the idea that you bring asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies back to the region and from the region, from the hub in the region, then let them return to their country of origin," Schoof added.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo reiterated his position against the establishment of centres outside the EU to process asylum seekers’ requests similar to the deal between Italy and Albania.

“History has shown that these solutions don't bring much in the way of results,” he told reporters. 

On the centres that opened this week in Albania and which are under Italian jurisdiction, he called to “first see if there are any lessons to be learned” but added that “for the moment, the assessment of these centres is that they are expensive and that the volumes involved are fairly small”.

Instead, he called for more cooperation and partnership deals with third countries, like those the EU struck with Tunisia, Egypt, and Mauritania. 

“What we see is that broad agreements, where other subjects are also discussed, work,” he said. “It's not always front-page news, it's technical, it's complicated, but it works well.”

Kristen Michal indicated that Estonia was dedicating 0.25% of its GDP to help Ukraine.

"The war is also fought for Europe’s freedom and values," he said.

He also insisted that the EU should simplify and automate procedures to allow the Single Market to compete with China and the US. Finally, the Estonian leader highlighted how the Baltics and Nordics countries witness the weaponisation of migrants by Russia.

“We must step up to ensure our borders hold,” he said, calling for the recognition of this process as a “hybrid activity from Russia”.

Russia to ‘weaponise’ migration to EU through Kaliningrad: Report

Moscow recently announced that it will increase the number of flights from North Africa and the Middle East to Kaliningrad. #EuropeNews…

A group of EU leaders who share the same approach to migration policy has met on the sidelines of the EU summit, two diplomats tell Euronews.

The meeting was hosted by Italy's Giorgia Meloni, the Netherlands' Dick Schoof and Denmark's Mette Frederiksen. It included Austria's Karl Nehammer, Cyprus' Nikos Christodoulides, Poland's Donald Tusk, the Czech Republic's Petr Fiala, Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Hungary's Viktor Orbán, Malta's Robert Abela and Slovakia's Robert Fico. (Tusk arrived late.)

All of them have talked about the need to promote "innovative solutions" to curb irregular migration, an euphemism often associated with outsourcing policies that transfer asylum seekers to non-EU countries, as Italy has already done with Albania.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who recently endorsed the idea of "return hubs," was also present.

Picture source: Palazzo Chigi

Today before the EUCO Summit kicked off, Patriots for Europe met for their first pre-leaders' summit gathering, mirroring the organising of mainstream parties.

Among them, Jordan Bardella and Marine le Pen from France's National Rally, Matteo Salvini from Italy's League, Former PM of Czech Republic Andrej Babiš, Santiago Abascal, the president of Spain's VOX, and Geert Wilders, president of the Dutch PVV.

Viktor Orbán is the only member to take part in the EUCO today.

Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris told reporters he’ll continue to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and a review of the EU Israel Association Agreement. He reiterates Ireland’s plan to cease trading with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank in line he says with obligations set out by the International Court of Justice (more on that below).

“The world is not doing enough to make the circumstances inevitable for a ceasefire. And we come to meetings like this, well intended on a regular basis, and fine words are said, but levers that could be pulled have not been pulled."

"I will continue to make the case today that under the ICJ advisory opinion from July, there is now an obligation advisement on member states to act in terms of reviewing the EU-Israel association agreement.

"I will continue to push this case. I will also explore formal ways to push it further in the days and weeks ahead.

This is an issue that needs to be resolved, but as I outlined yesterday, coalition government remains intense on looking at what more we can do on a domestic level in terms of our own legislation," he added.

By Shona Murray.

Ireland ‘won’t wait’ for EU to suspend bilateral trade with Israel: PM

Ireland is among EU member states that have been calling for the EU and Israel to hold an Association Council over human right concerns in Gaza. #EuropeNews…

There are not one but two French leaders in town today!

French President Emmanuel Macron attended the meeting of the liberal Renew group this morning and will be sitting around the Council table for the rest of the day.

But his prime minister, Michel Barnier, is also in town where he attended the right-wing European People's Party (EPP) meeting.

"His experience and leadership in times of crisis will be invaluable to the French people and Europe—with his EPP family standing strong by his side," the EPP wrote on X.

Context: Macron's centrist coalition lost its relative majority in the lower chamber of the National Assembly in snap elections held in July. A left-wing coalition came first, the far-right National Rally (RN) party in second, Macron and allies third while the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party from which Barnier hails came fourth. But Barnier is now at the head of a government made up of ministers coming from the ranks of the LR and Macron's centrist forces, and which survives with the RN's implicit support.

Kyriákos Mitsotákis spoke to the press about the issue of returns which he described as "the missing link in our migration policy."

"Greece has been implementing a tough but fair migration policy for the past five years, and I am happy that the Council is gradually recognising the importance of the external dimension of migration," he said.

"The Migration Pact does not address the issue of returns. We are not effective in dealing with those who are not entitled to asylum protection in the EU. I am eager to learn more about the EU's innovative solutions. We need to think outside the box," he added.

Reminder: Greece has been accused by NGOs of conducting illegal migrant pushbacks at sea.

Guess who's meeting EU leaders this morning to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will present his five-point 'victory plan' to bring peace to his country by next year.  

And the first point is... securing NATO membership.  

About that: Yesterday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was non-committal on Zelenskyy's call to join the military alliance, insisting that they were in close contact with Ukraine on the next steps and that the priority now was to ensure that the country was in a position to negotiate the best possible deal in any future negotiations with Russia. 

"NATO membership is a sovereign right that can be applied for by any nation that is somehow part of our geography. And the only ones who decide on that are the 32 members that are already in NATO and the one country that wants to become part of NATO," Rutte told reporters on Wednesday.  

NATO vague on Ukraine’s membership as Zelenskyy reveals plan

Though Russia’s gains have been incremental, its steady forward movement is slowly progressing — and Ukraine is pleading for Western help on a larger……

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters upon arriving at the summit that Brussels has failed to “deliver in the last months and even years” for Ukraine.

He listed the failures to agree to invite the war-torn country into the NATO military alliance and to allow it to strike military targets on Russian soil with Western-donated weapons as examples. 

“Our hesitance (sic) is the best, direct way to escalation,” he said. “If we would support Ukraine, if Ukraine would be more successful on the ground then I think Putin would be pressed to go to the negotiating table.”

He expressed frustration with Hungary’s continued veto on the reimbursement of €6.6 billion of weapon donations to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility and its decision to postpone its approval of a proposal to extend the rollover period for EU sanctions on Russia from six to 36 months until after the US elections.

“I do not see the correlation between those two issues,” Nausėda said. 

Once again the main topic of this summit will not be the economy, but migration - with the possible twist that no conclusions on migration policy will be reached by the end of the meeting. 

The clash is set for today's meeting between the 17 European countries that last week called for a "paradigm shift" on deportations, in which governments "must be empowered", and others, such as Spain, Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden, who are instead pushing to speed up the implementation of the migration pact agreed in May.  

Read Jorge Liboreiro's story for all the juicy details on what to expect this cloudy Thursday in Brussels:

Migration to dominate EU summit as calls for outsourcing grow louder

The leaders’ summit in Brussels will cover migration policy, support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. #EuropeNews…

Today heads of states and governments meet in Brussels to discuss migration, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East, the situation in Georgia, Moldova and Venezuela, and efforts to boost the EU's competitiveness.

A look at the agenda:

8.30 - 9.30: Arrivals & Doorstep

9.50: Leaders gather for a family picture

10.00: EUCO President Charles Michel & Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy open the summit

11.00: President Zelenskyy speaks to the press

In the evening, time TBC: end of the summit, leaders will share their conclusions

So stay with us to get the latest updates and feel the vibe of this important Council!