Nausėda to discuss EU funding, defence and migration at summit

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is travelling to Brussels on Thursday for a two-day European Council meeting, where leaders will discuss EU funding, defence and migration, LRT reports.

The agenda also includes high energy prices, competitiveness, support for Ukraine, EU enlargement and reforms, and security. Leaders are expected to discuss negotiations on the EU’s multiannual financial framework.

The presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia also plan to raise a proposed ban on the transit of Russian grain through the European Union, BNS reported. Last week, the three leaders sent a joint letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In the letter, they said Russia was seeking to weaken Ukraine’s economy by attacking its cargo ships, railways and other key trade routes. They also said Russia was looking for new routes to export grain, including through the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic leaders said the EU should not give Russia an opportunity to offset the economic consequences of its actions and should prevent grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian territories from being exported through the bloc.