Overview

• Slovakia vetoed the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, with Prime Minister Robert Fico warning of threats to the country’s auto industry and gas supplies.
• Member states failed to adopt a unified declaration on Ukraine support after Hungary’s Viktor Orban and others rejected deeper integration of the war-torn nation.
• A report by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Israel’s conduct in Gaza was merely noted, and no new measures were imposed on Israel.
• Leaders agreed to boost military budgets under NATO commitments and to exclude defense outlays from the Maastricht fiscal criteria.
• Trade negotiations with the United States remain unresolved after Washington allowed its self-imposed July 9 deadline to lapse, leaving the timeline in doubt.