Profits on Russian assets should be used to buy weapons for Ukraine, German chancellor says, as EU leaders gather – Europe live

Robert Abela, Malta’s prime minister, said in a social media post that his country “stands for peace – a value it will advocate for, particularly amidst discussions concerning Ukraine, Middle East and security and defence.”

He added that “in discussions on the agricultural sector, will emphasise the EU’s role in bolstering support for farmers.”

Meanwhile, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has met with Luís Montenegro, who has been nominated as Portugal’s next prime minister.

Both are members of the centre-right European People’s party.

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar, who announced yesterday that he is leaving his job, has said he was considering his position since Christmas and had not decided yet what he was going to do in the long term.

At the arrival at the EU summit in Brussels he said the decision to step down “had not sunk in yet” but felt it was time for someone who might have “new ideas” to take over as the party moves into “an election cycle”.

He said that of the leaders around the table when he arrived in Brussels in 2017, only six are left and three of those “are going” a reference to the Portuguese and Dutch prime ministers.

On Israel he was forthright. He said there should have been a ceasefire a long time ago, that he thought Israel was in “flagrant breach” of human rights obligations.

He said no leader was “here for drama” over Israel but that some countries were wrong in their position.

He also said he felt that Israel had world support on 7 October but it had now “squandered” international support.

Varadkar said he was not going to endorse any candidate for the Fine Gael party but whoever it was would have his support.

“The new leader is going to have a lot of support and I’ll be happy there.

“I’d be happy to either help out in any way possible or get out of the way, whatever.”

Varadkar is pushing for support for a strongly worded statement on Israel on aid, the hostages and “immediate clarity on what is needed for a two-state solution”.

He called out Austria and Czechia.

“The language is not yet closed but are not far off that.

“Austria and the Czech Republic are the two that are currently holding out on that. I think they’re wrong. But we have to convince them. And you don’t convince people by berating them.”

Lithuania’s president, Gitanas Nausėda, said that “it’s important to look for new possibilities to support Ukraine militarily.”

He also addressed Kyiv’s EU accession process.

It’s also important today to “see that European institutions are ready to start negotiations and to do it in June of this year – we should do it as soon as possible, and this is a matter of our credibility. Ukraine delivered, Ukraine implemented the necessary reforms under extraordinary difficult situation and conditions. We – this is our turn, right now.”

Boosting the defence industry is one of the top priorities for Lithuania, he stressed, arguing that the European Investment Bank should be empowered to finance defence investment projects – but that this would not be enough.

“We are kindly asking European Commission to make the proposals how we can accumulate financial resources,” he said, pointing to the EU’s experience raising funds during the pandemic.

Sanctions policy should continue, he said, adding that Europe must work on combating circumvention of sanctions.

Arriving at the summit, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that profits on frozen Russian assets should be used to buy weapons for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“These should first of all be used to buy those weapons and ammunition that Ukraine needs to defend itself,” Scholz said, added he was optimistic about the chances of the leaders agreeing on the issue.

Arriving at the summit, the Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas, reiterated her call for countries to spend more on helping Ukraine.

She added:

“I think it’s very important that we move on with opening the accession talks. We already had the decision in December, so we should also move on with this.”

Using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, she said, is a “first step,” while acknowledging she would like to see more.

On the issue of defence, she said she sees a problem with funding for the defence industry, calling for action to get more funding for the industry now.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, said when arriving at the summit that the Netherlands will “support the Commission proposal to open negotiations” with Bosnia and Herzegovina but will “also support the Commission that before the negotiating framework can be agreed upon, it’s crucial that Bosnia will fulfil all the necessary actions in the Commission report, so that we … really tick all the boxes.”

Ahead of today’s summit, Ukrainian officials have reiterated their call for more assistance.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, pointed to a “major missile attack overnight in Kyiv,” writing: “Thankfully, our air defense intercepted around 30 missiles, saving lives. Swift action needed to provide Ukraine with crucial defense systems and support.”

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has just revealed he is not looking for a new job in the EU.

Asked by the Guardian if he was looking for a new job in Brussels he expressed surprise and laughed. “No, definitely not”.

He was speaking to reporters on arriving at the European People Party’s pre-summit gathering at the Sofitel Hotel in Brussels.

Varadkar announced he was stepping down as leader of Fine Gael and as taoiseach yesterday, taking his party and the country by surprise.

Speculation immediately turned to the prospect of a new job for him in the senior ranks at the EU.

The EU summit centres on a packed agenda including Ukraine, the Middle East, approval of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an EU accession candidate and agriculture.

It will start with a working lunch with the UN secretary general Antonío Guterres who yesterday urged Israel to give “immediate and unfettered” access to Gaza to avert a looming famine.

On Ukraine leaders will discuss how to boost military support with fresh proposals to use the interest generated by €190bn held in frozen Russian assets.

A formal proposal presented by the European Commission yesterday will be discussed but no decision will be taken today. One diplomat said it was a “deeply complex proposal” which has all sorts of implications including potential legal action by the Kremlin which yesterday branded the move a breach of international law.

It also requires unanimity and Hungary is unlikely to support the use of the money on arms.

Also on the agenda is the question of long term defence funding with suggestions that the EU needs at least €100bn to be able to build capacity to fend off a potential attack by Russia.

Defence bonds, on which the leaders’ room is divided, is one option, as is raising money on the capital markets or, the least popular option is raising money from taxes.

Good morning and welcome to a special edition of the Europe blog, coming to you from the European Council in Brussels.

Leaders will soon be arriving for the launch of the two-day summit. The summit comes at a key moment for the bloc, as the EU prepares for elections in June and as concerns are growing about the future of aid for Ukraine.

Stay tuned and send tips to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.