Arriving for the European Council summit, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she had made two proposals to finance the €90 billion loan to Ukraine. Either borrowing against the EU budget or through the "reparations loan" as described below.
She said she expected "intensive discussions," but that the most important thing is that "at the end of the day, we have secured the funding for Ukraine for the next two years."
Regarding the contested Mercosur deal, von der Leyen said "our overdependencies are a stumblestone to competitiveness," and getting rid of them "is only possible through a network of free trade agreements," adding that Mercosur would play a central role.
As for Belgian's opposition to using frozen Russian assets held in the EU, the Commission president said she supports the EU member state and understands its position.
"If we take the reparations loan, the risk has to be shared by all of us," she said.
The EU summit is taking place in the shadow of unprecedented hostility from the US administration under President Donald Trump.
A recently revealed new security strategy from Washington not only places "America First," but seemingly questions the US-European ties in place since the end of the Second World War.
Hundreds of tractors are expected to block the streets in the Belgian capital during the two-day summit.
The EU's agricultural industry is worried that less-regulated products from South American economies, including beef and sugar, would undercut the EU's own produce.
Hopes to sign the EU-Mercosur deal in the next days, which would create the world's biggest free-trade zone, were scuppered when Italy joined France in calling for a delay.
They also fear plans put forward by the European Commission to reform the bloc's farming subsidies.
The pan-European agricultural lobby group Copa-Cogeca said it expects some 10,000 people from 40 national farming groups to join the protest.
Ahead of a key EU debate on repurposing frozen Russian assets as a war loan to Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe to prove to Putin that prolonging the fighting in Ukraine is futile.
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Most EU members agree that they want to use Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine.
Here's an overview of all the key questions about the issue you wanted answered but didn't know who to ask.
The top priority for the bloc is how to keep funding Ukraine, especially as the US under President Donald Trump rolls back its support.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Kyiv needs €137 billion ($160 billion) over the next years.
The European Commission has proposed a "reparations loan" of €90 billion to be lent to Ukraine until the war ends and Russia agrees to pay for the damage.
The money would be taken from the roughly €210 billion of frozen Russian assets held in the EU, mostly in Belgium.
"It is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine’s fight. We know the urgency. It is acute. We all feel it. We all see it," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
However, Belgium has strongly opposed it, fearing retaliation from Russia. Hungary and Slovakia, the two members with the closest ties to Russia, have also opposed the proposal.
A qualified majority of at least 15 of the bloc's 27 member states, representing at least 65% of the total population, could push the proposal through, but it remains to be seen if enough members would want to outvote Belgium.
The talks are expected to run into overtime.
Good morning and thank you for joining us as we launch our blog on the two-day EU leaders summit.
The talks will be particularly important for Ukraine, with the EU looking to take on more responsibility for funding the country in its defense against the nearly four-year-long full-scale Russian invasion.
The bloc is seeking funds to cover Ukraine's economic and military needs for the next few years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to join the EU leaders as a guest.
Keep reading for more on this and other issues being discussed at the summit.
