On Friday, EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a Summit amid international turmoil. The Prime Minister made the somewhat unexpected step of officially acknowledging a crisis. However, the EU summit ended in the conclusion that fuel and heating oil supplies had not yet run short. Even so, the prospect of joint gas purchasing was back on the table, as was the idea of a price cap, all of this against the backdrop of an EU with limited geopolitical leverage in the context of the war in Iran.
For Frieden, the headline issue of the summit was the proposed common Savings and Investment union (SIU). The vision is one of a networked financial landscape spanning Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin and Luxembourg, operating under a shared set of rules and designed to encourage European citizens to channel their money into European companies rather than simply saving it. The ambition is to make this a reality before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Ukraine faces tightening financial constraints. Its remaining reserves are expected to last only a few more weeks, and a much‑needed €90‑billion EU loan has been blocked for now after the Hungarian Prime Minister refused to shift his position.
