POLITICO Europe

The gathering of the European Council yesterday showed how badly EU leaders are stuck. Locked out of the real action between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, they find themselves trapped in a self-made loop of sometimes bizarre distractions.

Europe's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had high hopes of being able to mobilize as much as €40 billion of military aid to shore up Ukraine's position on the battlefield. But as EU leaders wound up their gathering in Brussels, the plan lay in tatters — not quite dead, but dramatically downgraded from its original ambition.

That’s a wrap on today’s European Council summit. While there was a clear consensus (minus Hungary) on support for Kyiv, questions around supervision of financial markets remained unanswered. See how the talks went down on our live blog: https://ow.ly/jFPh50VlXnC

Russia wants to return to the Olympic fold — and thinks the new leader of world sport could make it happen.

European capitals are widely aligned on the need to cut red tape, according to the Council conclusions on competitiveness 👇 On our live blog, our reporter Carlo Martuscelli summarizes what EU leaders agreed on behind closed doors: https://ow.ly/ihP950VlV3Y

French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to host a group of European leaders on Thursday, March 27, to discuss Ukraine and security in Europe, three officials told us.

Normally, all 27 EU countries must agree on a conclusion for it to be issued on behalf of the European Council. But at today’s closed-door talks, 26 member states — minus Hungary — will sign off on a joint statement on support for Ukraine. 🔗 https://ow.ly/caJm50VlLNI

European leaders are no longer relying on Hungary to go along with key policy positions on Ukraine. But that doesn’t mean Budapest can’t still cause problems.

The Commission has no excuse for bypassing the Parliament’s budget oversight when giving away EU cash in times of crisis, Parliament President Roberta Metsola told reporters today after meeting with European leaders.

In a bid to save its decaying steel and metal industries, the EU has formulated a plan to protect the sector against unfair competition from abroad, high energy prices and a looming trade war with the US — all while helping it go green.