The “informal” meeting of the European Council just started at the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The 27 EU leaders will be officially dealing with two items on the agenda: European common defence; support to Ukraine. Of course, they will also be looking at the Middle East, what is happening in Gaza and mainly the current news about the flotilla with humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian population. However, the leaders will address both items on the agenda again at the forthcoming European Council meeting on October 23rd and 24th.

The informal meeting is chaired by the President of the European Council, António Costa, and is hosted by the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen; it will be followed by a meeting of the European Political Community, which is composed of all European leaders. Today’s meeting will include a speech by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, then it will move on to discuss safety and defence. The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will give the latest news about the progress made and will explain the “Defence readiness road map” paper that is to be approved by the European Council in late October. A conference call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to follow. On social media, Von der Leyen stated: “Today, EU leaders meet to frame Europe’s plan to be fully defence-ready by 20230. Copenhagen will remain the place where we shape the future of Europe’s defence”.