The two-day European Council opens on October 15 in Brussels amid a rift between Washington and its European allies over Russia. European Union leaders will discuss continued aid for Ukraine, the bloc’s 2028-2034 budget, energy security, migration and enlargement.
The meeting comes as the EU prepares a 23rd package of sanctions against Moscow, and the United States and Russia discuss supplies of Russian diesel fuel to the US and global markets. According to President Donald Trump's announcement, Russia could deliver over 1.8 million tons of fuel to the United States in several stages, with another 3 million tons to follow.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that his country is starting to lift restrictions on diesel exports earlier and is ready to make deliveries as early as October. The Russian President's special representative Kirill Dmitriev reported that Moscow and Washington are in constant talks about the contracts.
Europe discusses new support for Kiev
At the meeting, European leaders will also seek a solution for Ukraine's long-term financing. The EU has already approved a loan of 90 billion euros for 2026-2027, of which 30 billion euros are intended for macro-financial support and 60 billion euros for the defense industry. However, by the end of August, 11.7 billion euros had been disbursed, while Kiev indicated a shortfall of 27 billion dollars.
The European Commission and the Ukrainian government said on October 1 that they had identified sources to cover the country's needs in 2026. For 2027, they plan to accelerate the movement of funding of 45 billion euros. On October 2, the Commission transferred another 2.9 billion euros to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility program.
In parallel with the financial assistance, Brussels continues to support Ukraine's European perspective. The country already has four out of a total of six negotiation clusters open. However, the European Commission has deemed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposed date of January 1, 2027, for EU membership unrealistic.
Moscow disputes Dutch plan for ships
Separate from the sanctions dispute, the Russian embassy in the Netherlands reacted to a proposal from the government in The Hague on October 9. It envisages that ships that the authorities associate with the Russian "shadow fleet" would be detained in the country's exclusive economic zone and taken to a port or anchorage for inspection. If the bill is adopted, their captains could be arrested.
“The exclusive economic zone is not part of the state territory,” the Russian diplomatic mission told TASS. According to the embassy, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not give the Netherlands the right to detain foreign ships or captains for political reasons.