Next week, the EU Council will discuss, in particular, Ukraine’s financial needs

At next week’s EU summit, “important discussions” will take place, with Ukraine and European security among the top priorities, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend.

This was announced by European Council President António Costa in an invitation to the summit published on 9 December, where he named as the main priority “ensuring the important decisions that need to be taken, particularly on financing for Ukraine.”

“We will hold important discussions, focusing primarily on two issues: Ukraine and security on our continent; and the MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework) of the European Union for 2028–2034,” Costa noted.

According to him, the summit will start on Thursday, 18 December, at 10:00 local time “with our traditional exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament.”

“After that, we will hear President Zelensky. We will then continue our work in a group of 27,” Costa said.

He stated that the European Council meeting will begin with a discussion on Ukraine.

“Recent events highlight the need for urgent EU action. At the October European Council meeting we committed to addressing Ukraine’s urgent financial needs for 2026–2027, in particular for its military and defence efforts. At our next meeting we must decide, based on the current preparatory work, how to fulfill this commitment. At the time of writing this letter, diplomatic efforts are ongoing to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. In this context, we will discuss how best to continue protecting Europe’s interests and how to strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position. An important part of this equation must be stepping up pressure on Russia,” Costa stressed.

He added that at the summit EU leaders will also “take stock of the implementation of our previous decisions on European defence and security, aimed at decisively strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities by 2030.”

The European Council President also emphasized that “the current geopolitical context underlines the importance of enlargement as a key geostrategic investment by the EU in peace, security, stability and prosperity.”

“Thanks to a merit-based approach, reform processes have a deeply transformative effect in candidate countries. Given the progress some candidate countries have made on their path to membership, some of them may meet the necessary conditions to join the European Union in the not-too-distant future. The December European Council meeting will be a timely opportunity for us to discuss next steps,” he said.

Among other topics for discussion, Costa also mentioned the EU’s multiannual budget (MFF), the geoeconomic situation, the Middle East, and migration.