European Union Leaders Summit (18–19 December 2025)

European Council Summit is a meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union member states, held in Brussels on 18–19 December 2025. This summit is part of the final leaders’ meeting of the European Union for 2025.

The meeting is taking place at the European Council building and is chaired by European Council President António Costa. The agenda includes discussions on the European Union’s defense policies, financial and political support for Ukraine, discussions on the use of frozen Russian assets, migration policies, the multiannual financial framework, and the Union’s enlargement process.

Participants

The European Council Summit is attended by the heads of state and government of the 27 member states of the European Union. By virtue of the EU’s institutional structure, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also participate.

Additionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been invited to the summit. Zelenskiy traveled to Brussels on 18 December 2025 and held consultations with EU leaders within the framework of the summit. His participation is directly linked to the summit’s agenda items on financial and political support for Ukraine.

Among the attending leaders is Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Belgium, as the host of Euroclear, the financial institution holding a significant portion of frozen Russian assets, is directly involved in the financial matters under discussion at the summit.

Main Agenda Items

Financial Support for Ukraine and Continuity of Financing

A central agenda item is financial support for Ukraine. EU leaders are addressing Ukraine’s financial needs for 2026 and the continuation of existing support mechanisms. Under this item, discussions focus on ensuring the sustainability of financial assistance and the use of new financing instruments.

During the summit, the current conditions of financial support for Ukraine, future payment schedules, and the impact on the EU budget have been brought to the table. The discussions remain ongoing and no final decisions have been reached.

Use of Frozen Russian Assets

The summit is addressing the proposal to use Russian Central Bank assets frozen within EU member states as a financing mechanism for Ukraine.

The financing model under discussion is referred to in project documents as a “reparations loan”. This model does not entail the direct transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine but proposes using these assets as collateral to provide Ukraine with long-term loans.

It has been noted that EU leaders are focusing on two main options:

• A collateralized loan mechanism based on frozen Russian assets
• Alternative financing models through the EU budget or borrowing instruments

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made statements during the summit regarding the proposed financing mechanism. On this issue, he said, “We do not want this instrument to end up in Russia’s hands.”

On the timing of financial support, Zelenskiy stated, “If the next EU financing tranche is not provided by spring, Ukraine will face serious challenges.”

European Union Defense Policies and Investments

Another key agenda item is European Union defense policies and decisions to increase investments in defense. While the summit was ongoing, the European Council announced it had adopted measures to encourage defense spending and streamline administrative procedures.

Under this framework, amendments have been introduced to allow more flexible use of existing programs such as the European Defence Fund (EDF), Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and the European Strategic Technologies Platform (STEP) for defense and dual-use projects.

European Union Foreign Policy and Security Agenda

The summit also addressed the European Union’s foreign policy and security agenda. This includes the impact of the war in Ukraine on European security, the EU’s current sanctions policies, and coordination in the field of security.

The European Council stated that decisions taken on defense are aligned with the existing policy framework and involve only limited adjustments to the legal and financial structures of current programs.

For some of the topics discussed, final decisions have not yet been made and negotiations among leaders continue. European Council President António Costa stated at the conclusion of the summit process, “We will not leave this Council without a final solution.”