EU leaders gathered for a hastily arranged summit in Brussels on Thursday evening, hours after most of them had been in Davos for the World Economic Forum amid the furore over Greenland caused by US President Donald Trump. The emergency summit was originally supposed to discuss a response to threats of fresh tariffs over Greenland. But US President Donald Trump's nebulous announcement of a "deal" appeared to have taken this specter off the table, at least in the immediate term.
Hundreds of tractors have clogged the streets of Brussels as farmers converged on the Belgian capital to protest against the contentious trade agreement between the European Union and South American nations they say will destroy their livelihoods. The demonstrations erupted on Thursday as EU leaders gathered for a summit where the fate of the Mercosur deal hung in the balance. More than 150 tractors blocked central Brussels, with an estimated 10,000 protesters expected in the European quarter, according to farm lobby Copa-Cogeca.
European leaders are meeting on Thursday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Brussels to reaffirm support for Kyiv. The president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, welcomed Zelenskyy, addressing him as future member of the European Union. The meeting comes as the 27 member bloc formally adopted a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.
"We are currently in a difficult security situation, and we must ensure the best possible working conditions for the armed forces and the police when they are responsible for security during the EU summit,"
