A day after the NATO summit in The Hague, European Union leaders will convene in Brussels for their regular summer meeting on June 26, with talks possibly extending into the next day due to a packed agenda. Key issues include Iran, Ukraine, and EU enlargement—where Montenegro may emerge as the only country to show tangible progress.
Brussels diplomats say the EU aims to remain a potential intermediary in any future direct talks between Washington and Tehran. Meanwhile, high-stakes political decisions on Ukraine’s EU accession path remain unresolved.
Poland, holding the rotating EU Council presidency, had set an ambitious goal: to launch formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova in the first half of 2025. But unanimous consent is required to open negotiation clusters, and Hungary has consistently blocked progress, even holding a controversial consultative referendum on Ukraine’s membership.
This week’s summit is seen as a last-chance opportunity to unlock the process. However, few expect Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to shift his position. Some EU diplomats believe movement might come only after Denmark assumes the presidency in July or even after Hungary’s national elections in April 2026.
A draft summit declaration seen by RFE/RL reaffirms the EU’s merit-based enlargement policy, stating that accession clusters will open when conditions are met. While no member state opposes Moldova moving ahead, several countries resist splitting it from Ukraine in negotiations, arguing that such a move would amount to “giving in to Hungarian blackmail.”
Still, the EU is expected to offer Moldova symbolic rewards, including its first EU-Moldova summit in early July and support ahead of its tight September elections. All technical preparations for accession talks will likely continue, pending eventual unanimous approval.
In contrast, Montenegro is expected to close several negotiation chapters on June 27, marking the most concrete progress among EU hopefuls at this summit. Once heralded as a new wave of EU enlargement, accession momentum has since waned.
On sanctions, Hungary and Slovakia appear more cooperative. The EU will consider the 18th package of sanctions against Russia and the extension of all previous sanctions, including over €200 billion in frozen Russian assets.
While Hungary has previously threatened to veto extensions, most officials now believe a compromise is likely—especially amid escalating Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets. The technical deadline for renewing existing sanctions is not until late July.
Most measures in the 18th package, including SWIFT restrictions on Russian banks and actions against the Nord Stream pipelines, are uncontroversial and have already been agreed at the diplomatic level.
A key proposal to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel is unlikely to pass, lacking U.S. support after the G7 summit. Without Washington, EU officials believe the bloc cannot act unilaterally, even with potential backing from allies like the UK and Canada.