The European Council meets today in Brussels with attention in the presence of Zelensky

The leaders of the European Union (EU) are meeting this Thursday in Brussels for an extraordinary summit to discuss migration policy and the economic situation, with the participation of the President of Ukraine, who promises to attract attention.

Following surprise trips to Washington, D.C., the United States at the end of December, and to Paris and London on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky will take part in the European Council this Thursday, according to several European sources. The presence of the President of Ukraine has never been officially confirmed by Brussels.

However, confirmation came through the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, during the preparatory debate on the meeting of the Council in Parliament: “There are two fundamental points in the European Council. Firstly, a meeting with President Zelensky, who will participate personally in the Council of Europe, and which will allow us to discuss together not only the process of supporting Ukraine so that it continues to face aggression from Russia, but also the European prospects for Ukraine.”

The “scenario” for Zelensky’s visit has not been fully determined due to security concerns, but Zelensky’s intervention is expected at 10:30. Bilateral group meetings are scheduled from 12:00 to 14:00, as the stay of the President of Ukraine is short. Intervention in the European Parliament before starting work in the Council has yet to be determined.

Zelenskiy’s participation also led to an expectation for the summit to start at 10:00 local time (9:00 in Lisbon), but the work, in principle, ends on this Thursday, and not extended until Friday, as originally planned.

In a letter sent by European Council President Charles Michel to leaders on the 27th, three topics will be addressed during the summit: “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, our economy and competitiveness, and our migration policy.”

“Following the summit between the EU and Ukraine”, which took place last week in Kyiv, continued Charles Michel, the agenda of the member states is to discuss the “unwavering support” of the country that is fighting against Russia. invasion.

What was supposed to be Zelenskiy’s second trip outside the country since Feb. 24 turned out to be his fourth, as the Ukrainian president traveled to London, UK, on ​​Wednesday to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and he traveled to Paris the same day. (France) for a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

This Thursday’s discussion on migration will focus on how to contain the increase in the number of arrivals in the EU along various migration routes and the growing pressure on asylum and reception systems, also taking into account the very low return rate of illegal migrants.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the summit the Commission will offer member states “two separate areas of work”: one is a legislative process to speed up negotiations on a new migration pact, which Brussels hopes to see finalized and implemented within a year, and the other is going through “prompt actions that can be taken now”.

In terms of the economy, the 27th will mainly discuss how the EU should respond to great power subsidy plans such as the US and China to improve the competitiveness of the community bloc, but keep the single market in balance, and for the moment there are still many controversy and no decisions are expected at this European Council.

Earlier this month, von der Leyen unveiled the European Green Deal Industrial Plan, a new industrial strategy proposed by Brussels to boost the EU’s competitiveness on the global stage and support the transition to climate neutrality.

Seen by many as the EU’s response to the US bailout plan – the Anti-Inflation Act (IRA) – von der Leyen’s plan, however, did not elicit an enthusiastic response among the 27 countries, and many countries, including Portugal, realized that it was based too much on government flexibility. aid that will only help large economies that have the financial capacity to provide it, such as Germany, without considering new sources of funding.