Estonian PM to attend European Council in Brussels

TALLINN - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will attend a meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Before noon on Thursday, the prime minister will participate in the Global Gateway Forum and the Renew Europe meeting and is also scheduled to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings. A Euro Summit will be held on Friday after the European Council.

According to Kallas, the meeting of the European Council will involve discussion concerning additional support for Ukraine, the economic situation of the European Union, steps necessary to increase competitiveness and the priorities of the mid-term review of the EU budget.

"It is important for Estonia that we fulfill our promise to support Ukraine as long as necessary," Kallas said. "For this, we are also reviewing the budget of the European Union, so that our support is sustainable and permits increasing Europe's own defense readiness. I also emphasize that we are waiting for an agreement on the next sanctions and on the use of Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine."

Before the European Council, the prime minister will open the session on digital infrastructure of the Global Gateway Forum, which focuses on sustainable economic growth. The session will be broadcast on the forum website. Global Gateway is part of the European Union's integrated strategy, the aim of which is to promote high-quality and sustainable infrastructure projects all over the world, thus bridging the digital divide, especially in the least developed regions.

After this, Kallas is scheduled to meet with the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, with whom she will discuss regional security.

In the afternoon, the prime minister will attend a meeting of Renew Europe, a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament.

Right before the start of the European Council, the prime minister is scheduled to have a multilateral meeting with the heads of state and government of the Nordic and Baltic countries and Ireland, where the upcoming European Council will be discussed. In addition, the prime minister is scheduled to have a tripartite meeting with the prime ministers of Finland and Sweden, the focus of which is related to the additional protection of critical undersea infrastructure.

The meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union will continue on Friday. In the afternoon, the a Euro Summit will be held, where the eurozone economy and current situation will be discussed.