Prime Minister Orpo to attend European Council and EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will take part in two high-level meetings in Brussels on 18 and 19 December. The EU and Western Balkans leaders will meet for a summit on Wednesday, and the leaders of the EU Member States will convene for the last European Council of the year on Thursday.

The Council will be meeting for the first time under the leadership of its new president, António Costa. Ukraine will once again feature prominently on the agenda, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to take part in the discussion.

“Ukraine is defending itself and all of Europe. We need to be able to do more to support Ukraine, and we need to do it faster,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

Other items on the Council’s agenda include the Middle East, the EU’s role on the international stage, preparedness and resilience, and migration. The leaders will also discuss EU enlargement and other topical foreign policy issues.

The EU-Western Balkans summit on Wednesday will be the fifth of its kind. According to Prime Minister Orpo, high-level meetings with the Western Balkans strengthen the Member States’ commitment to bringing the region closer to the EU.

Inquiries: Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768, Elisa Tarkiainen, Special Adviser (EU Affairs), tel. +358 50 433 4533 and Marko Ruonala, Project Manager, tel. +358 50 522 8233, Prime Minister’s Office