Leaders of the EU’s 27 member states are set to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and economic competitiveness. They are also expected to adopt a strategic agenda for the next five years.

The EU’s support for Ukraine will also be discussed, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expected to sign a security agreement with the bloc. Attending the talks in Brussels, Zelenskyy is set to brief EU leaders on the situation on the front line in Ukraine.

After the June 2024 European Parliament election, the three main centrist groups in the legislature agreed on a deal backing Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president for another five-year term. 

Under the deal, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas would serve as the EU’s foreign policy chief, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed on Wednesday.

The groups also agreed to tap former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa for the position of the European Council president, who chairs meetings of the EU’s national leaders.  

Although the deal is likely to have support among most leaders, it could also face some opposition. 

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has already criticized the plan, saying that her group had less of a say in the appointments. 

“It does not seem to me that a willingness to take into account what the citizens have said at the ballot box has emerged so far,” she said on Wednesday.

Von der Leyen needs European Parliament majority backing to be confirmed in the post. European Parliament members must also approve Kallas for the foreign policy chief role, while the European Council president’s job does not require parliamentary approval.

fb/kb (AFP, dpa, Reuters)