The main theme of the summit is the EU's competitiveness, which the member states are expected to discuss on Thursday.
of the EU political leaders begin a two-day summit in Brussels on Wednesday evening.
In the beginning, the summit was supposed to focus above all on policies regarding the competitiveness of the EU and the internal market, but in the end the international situation, which became more and more tense, affected the content of the meeting.
On Wednesday, the political leaders are expected to discuss three major themes: the increasingly heated situation in the Middle East, the worsening situation of the defensive war in Ukraine, and the EU's Turkey policy.
The situation in the Middle East took another step towards an even more serious escalation over the weekend, when Iran carried out a retaliatory attack on Israel with missiles. In general, Israel was able to repel the attack with its air defense, and the EU leaders are now expected, among other things, to send a message to prevent the situation from escalating.
Due to the country's weakened situation, Ukraine is playing a minor role this time. However, the eyes are focused on whether there will be a credible message from the countries to correct, for example, Ukraine's worsening shortage of ammunition and deficiencies in air defense.
Third the theme is the formulation of guidelines for the EU's Turkey policy. There is no crisis like the Middle East or Ukraine at hand with Turkey, but Turkey is a sensitive topic for some of the member states.
In 2004, Cyprus joined the EU, but in practice this only applies to the southern part of the island, because in 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared itself independent. However, its independence has been recognized only by Turkey, which had previously occupied the area.
Turkey's weak human rights situation is also a factor that EU countries must take into account in their Turkey policy. At the same time, the country has blocked the flow of migrants to Europe, and as a NATO country, it also plays a role in maintaining the security situation in the Black Sea.
The task of the summit meeting of the EU's political leaders, or the European Council, is to outline the guidelines for the Union's policy. Finland is represented at the meeting by the Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (cook).
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