EU leaders to hold extraordinary summit to discuss energy and defence in May

The European Union leaders will hold an extraordinary summit on May 30 and 31 to discuss the issues of defence and energy, which are closely linked to the war in Ukraine.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, confirmed the meeting for May 30 and 31 in a message on Twitter, in which he said that the meeting would be a continuation of the discussion held by the EU heads of state and government at the Versailles summit in early March and the ordinary European Council held just two weeks later.

The call comes after the EU put increased pressure on Russia regarding its military aggression in Ukraine and the massacre of civilians on the outskirts of Kyiv, with the first sanctions against Russian energy.

The fifth round of EU sanctions includes a coal embargo, as well as trade bans on various sectors and a ban on Russian ships in European ports. However, the debate in Brussels is already focusing on when the EU will go as far as to sanction Russian oil and gas imports, which would hit the Russian economy the hardest and cost member states significantly.

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