A two-day special summit of European Union leaders with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place in Brussels. Zelensky will address EU leaders via video link, reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the information received from a high-ranking European official on the eve of the meeting, the European Council meeting will begin at 4 pm [Central European Time] with an exchange of views with European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola.
"The working session will continue in the form of a working dinner, during which the leaders will discuss the situation in Ukraine. President Zelensky will join them via video link at the beginning of this discussion. Last week he was invited by President Charles Michel to speak to the European Council, so he accepted the invitation. This will be the third time," the statement said.
"The main political issue to be discussed by Ukrainian leaders will be financing and liquidity needs. As you know, the IMF has estimated Ukraine's monthly needs at 5 billion euros. We are trying to reach an agreement on [new] macro-financial assistance of 9 billion in loans and grants. An important issue, which is also sometimes very sensitive, is the issue of confiscation of russian assets," the source shared.
Another important issue to be discussed at dinner will be energy.
The second day of the summit will be dedicated to food security and defense. President of the African Union Macky Sall will also take part in the discussion via video link.
Yesterday the governments of the European Union failed to reach an agreement on the embargo on russian oil. It was reported that the talks will continue today. The media also reported that France, which holds the presidency of the European Council, has proposed in the sixth package of sanctions against russia to ban russian oil delivered by sea, which will be 2/3 of all imports.