The situation in Ukraine, support for it and European security and defense will be the focus of attention of European leaders who are gathering in Brussels today, BNR reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the meeting.
The focus will be on financial support for Ukraine, with leaders expected to give political approval to the idea of using blocked Russian state assets to finance a large-scale loan.
The European Commission is expected to receive a formal mandate to prepare a legislative proposal based on the principles of solidarity and risk-sharing between member states.
The plan could unlock up to 140 billion euros - income from Russian assets held mainly by the Belgium-based clearing house "Euroclear".
The latest peace proposal by US President Donald Trump will also be a subject of debate.
The leaders will also discuss the topic of European security and defense against the backdrop of the Commission's recently presented roadmap to 2030.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will miss the key discussion on Ukraine, which is the first item and will take place in the morning. He will not arrive until the afternoon, as on October 23, Hungary marks the 69th anniversary of the anti-Soviet uprising and he will participate in the event. The Hungarian Prime Minister has authorized his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to represent him in his absence.
The latest developments in the Middle East, competitiveness, housing and migration are also on the agenda.
Bulgaria will be represented by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she had discussed the synchronization of EU and US sanctions against Russian oil over the phone with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.
She reported in X that on the evening of October 22 she “had a phone conversation with Scott Bessant regarding his decision to impose sanctions against leading Russian oil companies“.
The head of the European Commission believes that given the “imminent implementation of the 19th package of sanctions against Russia“, this is “a clear signal that the EU and the US will jointly exert pressure“ on Russia.
Earlier, EU ambassadors completed the approval of the 19th package of sanctions against Russia. It will be introduced on Thursday, October 23. According to Dutch Foreign Minister David van Wiel, one of its key provisions will be sanctions against 117 tankers carrying Russian oil at market prices, known in the West as the “shadow flotilla“.
This brings the total number of tankers marked by non-Western countries on the EU blacklist to 564. EU countries are prohibited from providing any services to these ships, and they are also prohibited from docking in European ports.