EU to Hold Informal Summit on 17th to Discuss Ukraine Issue

Charles Michel, President of the European Council [Photo by EPA]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] European Union (EU) leaders will hold an emergency meeting on the 17th (local time) to discuss the Ukraine issue, major foreign media reported on the 16th (local time).

A spokesperson for Charles Michel, the President of the EU Council, announced on Twitter that the EU summit will begin at 12:30 PM on the 17th and will last about an hour. This summit is classified as an informal meeting, so no joint statement is expected to be released.

The EU summit will be held just before the scheduled EU-African Union (AU) summit on the 17th and 18th.

As tensions with Russia over Ukraine have recently escalated, some EU member states requested the convening of the summit, and it appears that a separate meeting was arranged in connection with the EU-AU summit.

It also seems aimed at organizing positions to prevent the Ukraine crisis from affecting the EU-AU summit.

A diplomatic official said, "It is better to proceed with the EU-AU summit as planned rather than canceling it," adding, "However, we have to accept that the Ukraine crisis may cast a shadow over the atmosphere of the EU-AU summit."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.