European Union leaders ended a two-day summit in Brussels on Friday 16 October without agreeing the bloc’s next long-term budget, Euronews reports. The meeting, held on 15 and 16 October, also left open how to meet a new request for Ukrainian funding, and exposed continuing differences over energy and migration.
No Deal on the Budget
According to Euronews, leaders spent much of Thursday debating the next Multiannual Financial Framework, with little movement from the established camps: the so-called frugal net contributors on one side and the “Friends of Cohesion” group on the other. The report says the Irish presidency’s negotiating proposal, which would have trimmed €141bn from the overall budget, is now considered dead.
European Council President António Costa will lead the next phase of talks and is expected to table a new compromise in the coming weeks, Euronews says. He has called a special summit for 26 November. The outlet adds that some leaders feel little pressure to settle by the end of the year.
Ukraine, Migration and Trade
On Ukraine, Euronews reports that leaders pledged to keep sanctions on Russia in place while its full-scale invasion continues. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked leaders for a further €70bn in financial and military support for next year. He also said: “I defend the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people exclusively.” The request upends plans that assumed a €90bn loan agreed last year would cover both 2026 and 2027. Leaders asked the European Commission to propose options, though Euronews notes that high borrowing costs, divisions over immobilised Russian assets and the risk of a few wealthy states carrying bilateral contributions all complicate matters. The report also describes a bitter row between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump that dominated the summit’s second day, and says leaders closed ranks behind Zelenskyy.
On migration, Euronews reports that Italy and Spain reached what Euronews calls an apparent first step towards ending a border dispute that followed a series of reciprocal checks. Italy extended its temporary border controls by a week to match Spain’s, which expire on 22 October, and the two interior ministers are due to agree replacement measures by then. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen questioned Spain’s plan to regularise 600,000 migrants, while Euronews says support is growing, following a breakfast hosted by the Italian, Danish and Dutch leaders, for emergency measures that would allow asylum applications to be suspended during crises.
Why It Matters
The EU’s next long-term budget will set the bloc’s spending priorities for years, so every month without a deal prolongs uncertainty for governments and recipients alike. The Ukraine request adds a second open question, since Euronews says it upends plans that assumed last year’s loan would cover both 2026 and 2027. With the Commission now asked to find options and a special summit set for 26 November, the coming weeks will show whether leaders can narrow differences that this meeting left largely where they were.
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