EU's support to Ukraine matters more than ever, von der Leyen says
Von der Leyen then turns to Ukraine.
She says the EU’s support “matters more than ever.”
She says the bloc “is doing a long, but the reality is simple: as long as this war continues, Ukraine’s financing needs will keep growing.”
She ends:
Closing summary
And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.
Earlier,
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the leaders for another €70bn next year to fund Ukraine’s defence against Russia as he joined a key EU summit in Brussels (10:10, 13:44, 15:13, 15:26, 16:00).
EU’s Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa confirmed the bloc will look at the request (19:01, 19:14, 19:20), as they said the EU’s support to Ukraine “matters more than ever” given growing pressures from Russia.
During a press conference in Brussels, Zelenskyy responded to US president Donald Trump’s criticism of his actions (13:51, 13:56, 14:04), and confirmed that Starlink satellite systems were back up, but with speeds not completely restored to previous levels (13:42).
Zelenskyy smiled but offered no response to a suggestion he was being used as a “scapegoat” for Donald Trump’s domestic problems ahead of next month’s midterm elections (14:06).
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said there was a “broad consensus” on the EU’s need to keep supporting Ukraine throughout this coming winter, acknowledging Kyiv’s request for further financial assistance (16:45), and appearing to back retaliatory strikes against Russian communication and energy supply systems (16:49, 16:54).
Several other EU leaders offered their backing for Ukraine, (10:10, 10:21, 10:25, 10:36, 11:09, 11:23), with top EU figures saying the bloc would not lift any sanctions on Russia unless it stops the war (10:10), and criticising Trump’s diesel deal with Russia (10:10, 19:32).
Zelenskyy declined to say if Ukraine will be targeting Russian refineries (13:47).
EU’s Costa insisted the new EU budget needed to be agreed by the end of the year, despite calls to delay its adoption considering a number of big elections in the EU (19:27).
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, insisted the bloc needed a bigger budget with “flexibilities” to respond to various crises (19:12).
Germany’s Merz conceded there were still “significant differences” between EU capitals on the budget, with talks expected to continue until the end of the year (16:43, 16:54, 16:59).
Separately,
Pope Leo spoke with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, this afternoon, expressing his grave concern for the humanitarian situation in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky (17:36).
The Kremlin said Putin expressed his support for Leo’s ideas, but blamed Ukraine for the situation in the city (18:22).
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Speaking at the same time, France’s Emmanuel Macron told reporters that he did not consider a diesel deal struck by Trump with Russia as useful.
“This decision is not good for anyone. It sends a negative signal. It a an element of division and doubt,” Macron said after an EU summit in Brussels, Reuters reported.
After some concluding comments on the bloc’s response to the growing sales of Chinese electric cars in Europe, von der Leyen and Costa wrap up their press conference.
Trump insists Starlink restrictions not imposed by the US
Elsewhere, US president Donald Trump insisted that neither him nor Elon Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access.
He claimed the restrictions was not imposed by the US, and that he has a good relationship with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, Reuters reported.
Costa gets asked if he is more confident that a deal can be found by the end of the year.
And there is also a question about Marine Le Pen’s suggestions that the budget should not be decided this early given so many key elections in Europe next year that are likely to reshape the political landscape of the continent.
Costa repeats Merz’s point from earlier that it usually takes about a year to implement a budget (16:59), and anything that would threaten to delay its entry into force from January 2028 puts it a risk altogether.
“This has nothing [to do] with elections,” he says, and adds if that was a consideration, there would never be a good moment as there are always elections somewhere.
Asked about Ukraine’s new financial needs, von der Leyen says that 2026 is covered, but confirms the gap for 2027 is around €70bn euros.
On migration, von der Leyen says all leaders recognise “enormous progress” made on this issue in recent years, but more needs to be done.
He says the number of illegal crossings has gone down by over 56% in the last two years, and down by 34% in the first nine months of this year.
Asylum applications are also falling, she says.
She says there is a “new phenomenon” of state and non-state actors trying to “engineer sudden mass movements of people … to overwhelm the authorities.”
It will come as news to the likes of Poland and Lithuania that it’s anything new given the pressure from Belarus for years.
EU's support to Ukraine matters more than ever, von der Leyen says
Von der Leyen then turns to Ukraine.
She says the EU’s support “matters more than ever.”
She says the bloc “is doing a long, but the reality is simple: as long as this war continues, Ukraine’s financing needs will keep growing.”
She ends:
Von der Leyen also mounts a defence of the commission’s proposal on the next EU budget, effectively saying that as leaders keep coming to the EU asking it to fix things, it’s understandable that it’ll need more resources.
He says the new proposals have “even less flexibilities,” and so the commission is not happy with them.
Commission president von der Leyen speaks next.
She points out to high energy price increases since the start of Trump’s war against Iran.
She says the G7-agreed release of oil and diesel, the EU’s extension of temporary state aid framework, and some other technical changes should provide some relief.
She talks about the need to “modernise and improve our grid network” in Europe.
She also briefly discusses proposed changes to the ETS system and the EU’s trade with China, saying there was a “remarkable unity” on the latter point to reduce the “unsustainable” bilateral trade deficit.
Finally, on migration, Costa says the system is “working but … must still be improved.”
“Migration remains a very political issue where there are different political visions which are known to all of you. The European Council will continue to work on this issue,” he says.
'Ukraine remains a central priority for Europe,' EU's Costa says
On the next EU budget, Costa says the negotiations will need to conclude by the end of the year, and there was some progress made.
But with lots of diplospeak, he admits that there are still some differences between different countries, and so he needs to “accelerate” the work on this issue.
On Ukraine, he says “Ukraine remains a central priority for Europe.”
He calls for “more pressure on the aggression, not less,” and for more financial support for Ukraine, with a request to the commission to propose new funding.
He warns:
EU’s Costa opens the presser.
He talks about good discussions on cutting red tape and competitiveness of the bloc, and confirms what Merz said earlier about a special meeting on this issue in February next year (16:43).
On energy, he says that “current volatility on energy prices [is] putting intense pressure on households and businesses.”
He says there will be a united EU response to this issue.
He also talks about discussions on trade policy, with “total unity among the member states” on supporting the bloc’s efforts to diversify trade routes. Again, he references Merz’s proposals for a new trade instrument.
“Still someone here,” von der Leyen jokes as she gets to the podium.
Just about, Ursula. Just about.
EU's von der Leyen and Costa brief the media after two-day EU summit – watch live
Finally!
I will bring you the key lines here, but you can watch along here:
