Two-day summit of EU leaders starts in Brussels

A two-day summit of leaders of EU countries commenced in Brussels on 21 March. The gathering will discuss the supply of armaments to Ukraine.

The press service of the EU Council explained that leaders of the EU member states will further discuss support for Ukraine, security and defence issues, as well as the situation in the Middle East, the enlargement of the EU, international relations, and matters of migration and agriculture at the meeting on 21-22 March, Ukrainska Pravda reports.

As for security and defence, the agenda will cover, among other things, increasing Europe's defence preparedness, ways to strengthen the technological and industrial base for the defence industry in the EU, and steps to boost the resilience and competitiveness of the European defence industry.

Based on the European Commission's presentation, the leaders will discuss the European Defence Industrial Strategy and the European Defence Industry Programme.

In terms of enlargement, the meeting will discuss the progress of Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as all three countries have been granted candidate status and are awaiting the start of negotiations.

Media reports suggest that at this meeting, EU leaders are unlikely to adopt a decision to use billions of euros in profits from frozen Russian financial assets to purchase weapons for Ukraine.

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to this effect. The proposal is to use the profits generated by assets held in Europe rather than the assets themselves. This could add to Ukraine's treasury about €3 billion annually.