A two-day summit of EU leaders begins in Brussels, where they are expected to consider the decision to start accession talks with Ukraine. Also on the agenda is the allocation of 50 billion euros to Ukraine, The Guardian writes.
These topics are expected to take up most of the time. If all EU members fail to unanimously agree on a 50bn fund for Ukraine, the 26 member states are ready to find an alternative mechanism to provide the money.
The country that may not agree to the allocation of funds is Hungary. It is also the main obstacle to the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession.
"In a last-minute attempt to prevent Budapest from blocking a key decision to open EU accession talks with Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet with Hungarian President Viktor Orban this morning," The Guardian reported.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters that his position is clear: he does not believe that Ukraine has fulfilled the pre-conditions for membership, so he will oppose it.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that he was ready for talks and that discussions would last "as long as it takes," Politico reported.
The priority should be "security and our existence as a credible alliance," he said.
Irish leader Leo Vardakar expressed hope that the European Council would be able to make at least one of two decisions regarding Ukraine: to allocate funds or to start accession negotiations.
"I have been attending European Council meetings for six or seven years. This is probably one of the most important meetings I attend, because of the important decisions we have to make about Ukraine: the financial decision and the decision on whether to start negotiations. And we have to say yes to at least one of those two, and perfectly to both of them. Because Ukraine is in danger. Ukraine will not stand without the support - and continued support - of both the European Union and the United States... and if Ukraine does not have the support of the EU and the US, then Putin will win," he said.
In addition to Ukraine-related issues, EU leaders should consider:
- The Middle East
- Security and defence
- Migration
- Russia's hybrid attacks
- Combating anti-Semitism.
The summit officially started at 13:00.