EU’s support to Ukraine matters more than ever, von der Leyen says, as US relationship sours – as it happened

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 E

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.

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.

“But unfortunately, the life is not only elections. We are talking about our farmers, our companies, our students, our researchers, our universities – and they are waiting for new European funds.”

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. “These trends need to continue to remain successful.”

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.

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.” “Right now, the European Union and its member states account for 80% of external aid to Ukraine, and we will continue to lead. But we urgently need also other partners to step in.”

She ends: “As throughout these five years of war, no one wants more peace than the people of Ukraine, and it is our duty to support them, to be in the position to find a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine.”

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. “If there’s one lesson we have painfully learned over the last seven years, that is the lesson that we are in a very fast changing and volatile world and that there will be more crises.

We just don’t know what is going to be happening. … I could only act in these crisis because of the flexibilities in the budget … and in each crisis, everybody was calling for Europe to step in.” He says the new proposals have “even less flexibilities,” and so the commission is not happy with them. “The question before us is not which priorities we should abandon, but how to finance these priorities.”

Commission president von der Leyen speaks next. She points out to high energy price increases since the start of Trump’s war against Iran. “This is the reality we have to deal with today, and we discussed this intensively with the member states. Because of the fact that the member states have very different energy mixes, we know there is no silver bullet as a solution.”

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.

“For the mid term, it is important that as long as Europe depends on imported oil and gas and our prosperity remains exposed to the events beyond our control, it is important for us to stay the course of the transition; that is a transition towards affordable, clean and homegrown energy sources, … nuclear and renewables.” She talks about the need to “modernise and improve our grid network” in Europe.

She also briefly discusses proposed changes to the ETS syst

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.

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.”

“Our resolve to stand by Ukraine and its people is as strong as ever. At the same time, every genuine step towards peace matters and we support all genuine efforts towards it. Unfortunately, Russia’s action point the other way.” 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: “Supporting Ukraine has never been more relevant as Moscow is intensifying its hybrid campaigns across Europe. We see acts of sabotage and repeated violations of member states airspace in territorial waters.”

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.”

“This crisis is triggered by events far beyond our borders, but we are also paying the price of our dependency on fossil fuels and the lack of a single market for energy. Given the urgency of the situation, there cannot be business as usual.” 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.

Finally! I will bring you the key lines here, but you can watch along here:

Kaynak: The Guardian · Özgün metin İngilizcedir.