EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday for last-minute talks on the bloc's budget and coronavirus recovery fund as well as on Turkish drilling and a more long-term target of reducing carbon emissions
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2020) EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday for last-minute talks on the bloc's budget and coronavirus recovery fund as well as on Turkish drilling and a more long-term target of reducing carbon emissions.
There has been a flurry of diplomacy to reach a compromise with Poland and Hungary to allow the European Union to pass the 2021-2028 budget after the two vetoed it over the rule of law clause.
EU officials have been hopeful that the impasse will end before the summit starts. It is expected to top the event's agenda since the $2.2-trillion funding package includes $908 billion in much-needed coronavirus relief.
Coronavirus response will continue to be a major topic. The European Council will take stock of progress in containing the pandemic, the work on vaccines and testing, and the lifting of curbs on public life.
The European leaders will consider whether to slap Turkey with more sanctions after warning it in October against drilling for gas and oil off the shore of Cyprus and Greece. Europe's relations with the new US administration will also be discussed.
An EU source told reporters that the 27 leaders would discuss the peace process in eastern Ukraine and the extension of sanctions on Russia, which they blame for the neighbor's crisis.
The summit will look at a new CO2 reduction target for 2030, which will allow the European Union to submit its updated contribution to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change before the end of the year.
The second day of the gathering will see all 27 EU leaders meet for a Euro Summit, focusing on the banking union and the capital markets union.
