En direct. Sommet de l'UE : les dirigeants font bloc derrière Zelensky face à Trump

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs upped the ante on Friday morning, telling Europeans that if they "want comfort, eat croissants and drink coffee in the morning and don't think about threats, then we have to support Ukraine".

"That's the duty, and that's on our hands," he told reporters.

Kulbergs regretted that the energy disruption caused by the US war on Iran had given Russia a "breeze of (fresh) air" with higher oil prices.

"That is not helping," he said. "Ukraine needs financial support and military support in order to go through this harsh winter, which is going to be ahead of us, and that is our security. That is where we need to support them."

Asked about President Zelenskyy, the Latvian premier said he was a "true leader" who pulled his country "out of misery" at the start of the war, when Russian troops approached Kyiv but were pushed back. "We're united and fully supporting Ukraine, and we're going to do that until Ukraine wins," Kulbergs went on. "Zelenskyy has our back. And he has his back covered from our side."

Czechia's PM Andrej Babis is again stepping up its attack on the EU’s carbon market, warning that the bloc’s emissions trading system is undermining EU industry and that its planned extension to heating and road fuels could further squeeze households.

"I reiterated that the first phase of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) is destroying European industry, and that ETS II will ruin the lives of European citizens," Andrej Babis said.

The Czech leader argued that the ETS is accelerating the loss of industrial capacity, including refineries, while ETS2 risks pushing up the cost of living, including housing.

Czechia, alongside Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Italy and Greece, proposed to delay the ETS2 until 2030 — a demand that was met with resistance by the Nordics and ultimately didn't feature in the conclusions. However, the six countries managed to push for an impact assessment, which the Commission will be tasked to conduct.

The battle over the ETS underlines the growing political pressure on Brussels to address high energy costs as EU leaders struggle to reconcile climate targets with industrial competitiveness.

The EU must tackle what the Dutch leader called an “unacceptable” imbalance in its economic relationship with China, combining targeted measures with efforts to strengthen European industry.

"Everyone understands that the imbalance between the EU and China is not just uncomfortable, but unacceptable," Dutch PM Rob Jetten said.

"We need to take action—on one hand, by implementing measures when necessary, and on the other, by boosting the competitiveness of European companies so they can truly compete with the Chinese in terms of fair pricing and product quality," he added.

He urged the European Commission to come forward with proposals to address the imbalance, putting pressure on Brussels to turn concerns about Chinese competition into concrete action.

The Netherlands is pressing Italy to fully implement EU asylum rules, with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten saying Rome has a responsibility to ensure the bloc’s migration system works.

"She (Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni) is very well aware of the Netherlands' position, as our Minister for Asylum and Migration works very closely with her," Jetten said.

Jetten backed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s call for proper implementation of the EU Migration Pact, including the Dublin rules that determine which member state is responsible for processing an asylum claim.

"It is clear that Italy has a task to fulfill here," the Dutch PM added.

Several countries have failed to implement the rules for years, he said, warning that catching up is essential to making the system work.

Europe must build its own capacity to provide Ukraine with critical connectivity services, the Dutch PM Rob Jetten said, after Starlink access was restored.

Speaking about discussions with the US and a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, the leader said Europeans should be able to provide more of these services themselves in the near future.

The Netherlands remains among the top five supporters of Ukraine, focusing on areas where it has particular strengths.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said the current budget proposal wasn't good enough and that "a good deal" on the EU's multi-annual budget is "more important than just getting a stamp of approval."

"It needs to be much more focused on key priorities—such as our security, our competitiveness and gaining better control over immigration. Furthermore, the burden-sharing is not fair," Jetten added.

US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his strikes on Russia's oil refineries, calling them a "disgrace".

In an interview with Newsmax, a right-wing TV channel, Trump said Zelenskyy "is not a good guy for us to deal with" because "he doesn't want to settle" the war that Russia launched. "He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't. No, I'm not a big fan of Zelenskyy," Trump said.

Asked about Zelenskyy's intention to resume strikes against Russia's oil refineries, which have inflicted economic pain on Moscow, Trump reaffirmed his opposition.

"Now, if you tell me that Zelenskyy is again shooting at refineries, all he's doing is making the world oil price higher," he said. "Well, I think that's a disgrace. There's plenty of other targets."

"But when you shoot at diesel refineries where you make, you know, diesel oil and we need that, and the world needs that, then he's not doing a good service for the world."

Trump said Zelenskyy is "more difficult to deal with" than Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump recently struck a controversial deal to purchase Russian diesel that had until now been under sanctions. The deal sent US-Ukraine relations to a new low. Zelenskyy said he feels betrayed by Trump's actions.

Trump repeated his call for new elections in Ukraine, which are banned under martial law. "I think you need an election because there's nobody that's telling me that the people of Ukraine are satisfied having missiles hitting their apartment building," Trump said.

EU leaders are slowly making their way into the second day of the summit. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten is among the first ones to show up.

Stay tuned for updates.

Credit: European Union

As EU leaders begin the second day of their summit in Brussels, with Ukraine's defence needs high on the agenda, a senior Ukrainian official has told Euronews that work is already under way on European alternatives to US-made air defence systems and Starlink satellite communications.

Speaking exclusively to Euronews' Europe Today programme, Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, said the European FREYJA anti-ballistic missile programme had progressed to direct engagement between defence companies.

"We need a European equivalent of an air defence system," he said, adding that Ukraine intended to take a leading role in its development.

Kyiv is also pursuing a European alternative to Starlink, although Zhovkva declined to disclose further details.

Asked whether developing these systems would take too long, Zhovkva said progress would come considerably sooner than sceptics anticipated.

"We have a clear timetable and deadlines," he said. "It will be much faster than ten or fifteen years, and even faster than five."

Zhovkva also insisted that Europe must be involved in any negotiations to end the war, arguing that Ukraine's future security was inseparable from that of the wider continent.

The second day of the EU summit will have one key purpose: to show the world that Europe continues to be fully behind Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.

Of course, this isn't the first time that this has happened. In fact, it's a message that every EU summit has sent since February 2022. What changes now is the context: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he feels betrayed by the diesel supply deal that US President Donald Trump struck last Friday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in open defiance of Western sanctions.

Since then, relations between Zelenskyy and Trump have rapidly deteriorated. Trump has called for new elections in Ukraine, which are forbidden in wartime, while Zelenskyy insists the strikes on Russia's oil refineries, which Trump has asked him to stop, will resume.

The first day of the EU summit was dominated by the fight over the next long-term budget. At the end of an inconclusive day of talks, António Costa, the president of the European Council, took charge of the negotiations. He has committed to present a new compromise with revised figures ahead of a special summit next month.

Inconclusive sparring at EU summit puts budget timeline into question

EU leaders stuck to their red lines on the next long-term budget at Thursday’s summit, with several now rejecting the presumed December deadline. Council Presi…