Overview

• At Copenhagen meetings, EU leaders backed stronger defense but deferred decisions as legal work on a €140 billion plan to leverage frozen Russian assets continues.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expects a concrete European Council decision in three weeks and vowed to support any lawful route to use the assets for Ukraine.
• Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever called the scheme “very, very risky,” demanded written liability guarantees for Euroclear-held funds, and cited security and capital-flight concerns.
• Debate over a continental anti-drone posture shifted from a narrow “drone wall” to a 360-degree approach, with questions over cost, scope and whether the EU or NATO should lead.
• France confirmed it boarded a tanker off Saint-Nazaire and arrested two crew from a vessel tied to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” which some suspect of links to Danish drone overflights, a claim investigators have not confirmed.