EU summit ends without budget deal as Belgium blocks frozen Russian assets
Two-day Brussels summit closed on 17 October with no agreement on the 2028-2034 budget and Belgium vetoing use of €185 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's €40 billion defence gap for 2027.
The European Council summit in Brussels ended on 17 October 2026 without a deal on the EU's 2028-2034 long-term budget, with leaders pushing the fight to an extraordinary meeting on 26 November. Ukraine's 2027 defence requirements are estimated at €70 billion, of which €40 billion is not yet funded. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever held firm against using the roughly €185 billion in Russian central bank assets held at Euroclear in Belgium, fearing legal exposure if Moscow sued. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said leaders agreed the frozen assets would not be returned unless Russia pays reparations. Leaders also clashed openly over migration: Italy, Denmark and Poland pushed for tougher language condemning 'pull factor' policies, in a swipe at Spain's regularisation of some 600,000 irregular migrants; Danish PM Mette Frederiksen publicly criticised Spain's Pedro Sánchez, and France's Emmanuel Macron said 'ideological divisions' were making the 27 'ineffective'. Zelensky, attending in person, thanked European 'real leaders' as his relationship with Washington soured.
