European Council Summit: What To Look Out For

European Council summit gets underway in Brussels today, with all EU-27 member state leaders expected to be in attendance, except for Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki who is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone carrying the COVID-19 virus.

• Major topic to be discussed is Brexit. The summit was initially intended as a chance for MS leaders to give their approval to a deal agreed between the EU and UK, but this has not yet proved possible. Instead, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier will give an update on talks to MS leaders. The talks on Brexit, initially penciled in for the afternoon of the first day of the summit are believed to have been moved to the evening to be discussed over dinner.
• The update from Barnier comes after a phone call last night between UK PM Boris Johnson, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Council President Charles Michel. During the call both sides are said to have expressed frustration with the lack of progress made.
• The UK's initial deadline for a deal to be reached is today, but this has been extended to tomorrow to allow the UK gov't to see the conclusions made during the EUCO summit. The widespread expectation among observers is that the UK gov't will not stick to this deadline and walk away from talks, but instead will allow talks to continue for the coming several weeks.
• EUCO Timeline: 1330CET (1230BST, 0730ET): Member state leaders begin to arrive at the Europa Building in Brussels. 1500CET (1400BST, 0900ET): Roundtable between leaders and EU institutional heads gets underway. Late evening Brussels time: Press conference after first day of meeting.
• Aside from Brexit, the EUCO summit is also set to discuss the multiannual financial framework. The EU's long-term budget was not intended to be on the summit's schedule, but the increases to the budget (previously agreed to by leaders) requested by the European Parliament are said to be so large that they exceed the mandate of the Council's negotiators, requiring member state heads to make the final decision.