٠٠:٠٣:٠١Mandatory credit: EBS
Officials from the European Union member states arrived in Brussels on Thursday ahead of the bloc's Council meeting amid a budget impasse.
During the two day summit, the leaders are expected to confirm key elements in future relations of the bloc with the United Kingdom following the implementation of the withdrawal agreement, as well as the current epidemiological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent, assessing the work done on the development and distribution of a vaccine at the EU level.
"Negotiations are still ongoing, we trust the commission, we will have a short debrief of the commission. We will not have a lot of debate on Brexit and we defend our European interests," explained Charles Michel, the President of the EU Council.
"I'm a bit more gloomy today, as far as I can hear, there is no progress made in recent days, it's problematic of course so that is a huge challenge. We've always said that we are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best," the Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven commented ahead of the meeting.
The Council is also expected to discuss the launch of a Magnitsky-style sanctions regime for individuals over human rights violations, as agreed by the Foreign ministers of the 27 member states.
Mandatory credit: EBS
Belgium: Merkel, Orban make statements ahead of EU summit on budget
Officials from the European Union member states arrived in Brussels on Thursday ahead of the bloc's Council meeting amid a budget impasse.
During the two day summit, the leaders are expected to confirm key elements in future relations of the bloc with the United Kingdom following the implementation of the withdrawal agreement, as well as the current epidemiological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent, assessing the work done on the development and distribution of a vaccine at the EU level.
"Negotiations are still ongoing, we trust the commission, we will have a short debrief of the commission. We will not have a lot of debate on Brexit and we defend our European interests," explained Charles Michel, the President of the EU Council.
"I'm a bit more gloomy today, as far as I can hear, there is no progress made in recent days, it's problematic of course so that is a huge challenge. We've always said that we are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best," the Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven commented ahead of the meeting.
The Council is also expected to discuss the launch of a Magnitsky-style sanctions regime for individuals over human rights violations, as agreed by the Foreign ministers of the 27 member states.
Mandatory credit: EBS
Mandatory credit: EBS
Officials from the European Union member states arrived in Brussels on Thursday ahead of the bloc's Council meeting amid a budget impasse.
During the two day summit, the leaders are expected to confirm key elements in future relations of the bloc with the United Kingdom following the implementation of the withdrawal agreement, as well as the current epidemiological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent, assessing the work done on the development and distribution of a vaccine at the EU level.
"Negotiations are still ongoing, we trust the commission, we will have a short debrief of the commission. We will not have a lot of debate on Brexit and we defend our European interests," explained Charles Michel, the President of the EU Council.
"I'm a bit more gloomy today, as far as I can hear, there is no progress made in recent days, it's problematic of course so that is a huge challenge. We've always said that we are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best," the Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven commented ahead of the meeting.
The Council is also expected to discuss the launch of a Magnitsky-style sanctions regime for individuals over human rights violations, as agreed by the Foreign ministers of the 27 member states.
Mandatory credit: EBS