- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
RIO | -4.64% | 66.535 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.36% | 24.66 | $ | |
NGG | 0.62% | 65.89 | $ | |
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
SCS | -0.38% | 12.901 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.24% | 24.849 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.185 | $ | |
BCC | -0.58% | 140.46 | $ | |
BCE | -0.52% | 33.355 | $ | |
GSK | -1.46% | 38.075 | $ | |
RELX | 1.11% | 46.555 | $ | |
VOD | -0.47% | 9.645 | $ | |
JRI | 0% | 13.18 | $ | |
AZN | -0.13% | 76.77 | $ | |
BP | -3.53% | 32.01 | $ |
Ukraine crisis to dominate EU leaders' Versailles summit
EU leaders will scramble Thursday to find ways to urgently address the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has imperilled the bloc's economy and exposed a dire need for a stronger defence.
The meeting at the Versailles palace was set to be the high point of France's six-month EU presidency, but President Emmanuel Macron will instead spearhead a crisis summit to answer Russian leader Vladimir Putin's brutal disruption to decades of stability in Europe.
"Russia's war of aggression constitutes a tectonic shift in European history," a draft of the two-day meeting's final declaration said.
The leaders will grasp "how the EU can live up to its responsibilities in this new reality, protecting our citizens, values, democracies, and our European model".
The 27 heads of state and government meet as fighting raged for a 15th day in Ukraine, with more than two million refugees escaping mainly to Poland but also to countries across Europe.
The heart-wrenching conflict has seen a swell of support in the EU for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and leaders were expected to seriously consider the leader's plea to swiftly join the EU and escape the clutches of Russia.
"Our first priority is to send a political message to Ukraine that it belongs to the European family," an official from the French presidency said.
- 'Biggest issue' -
But diplomats said the main topic in Versailles was to urgently explore ways to shore up Europe's self-reliance in a starkly more dangerous world, especially on energy.
"I think energy is the biggest issue on leaders' minds right now," said a source with close knowledge of the summit preparations.
The energy price shock caused by the Ukraine invasion has endangered an EU economy emerging from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic and fuelled heated discussions on how to protect consumers.
Western allies have unfurled waves of anti-Russia sanctions whose knock-on effects have exposed Europe's dangerous dependency on Moscow for gas and oil, a reality the meeting will seek ways to address.
Europe's dependency on Russian energy even caused the first crack in the West's unified response to Putin's aggression, with the EU this week shying away from a ban on Russian oil imports implemented by the United States and Britain.
The EU imports about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia with Germany, Europe's biggest economy, especially dependent on the energy flow, along with Italy and several central European countries.
About a quarter of the EU's oil imports also come from Russia.
According to the meeting's final declaration, the 27 leaders will cautiously agree to "phase out" the bloc's dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal.
- 'Resolutely invest' -
The EU leaders will also try to advance on ways Europe can build its sovereignty in highly sensitive sectors, including semiconductors, food production and most notably defence.
Collective security in the European Union is primarily handled by the US-led NATO alliance, but France, the EU's biggest military power, would like the bloc to play a bigger role.
Since Russia's belligerence against its pro-EU neighbour, bloc members have approved a total of half a billion euros in defence aid to Ukraine.
Berlin dramatically broke with long-standing doctrine when it announced it will plough 100 billion euros into national defence.
In view of the challenges, "we must resolutely invest more and better in defence capabilities and innovative technologies", the leaders were expected to say.
P.Costa--AMWN