European Council The President
Brussels, 14 April 2026
Dear colleagues,
I would like to invite you to our informal meeting of Heads of State or Government on 23 and 24 April. President Christodoulides will be hosting us on this occasion in Lefkosia and Agia Napa. On 24 April, after our meeting at 27, we will also get together with key regional partners to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
The focus of our informal European Council meeting will be twofold: we will address the challenging geopolitical environment and Europe’s response to it, and we will also provide political guidance for the work on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034, to prepare the ground for an agreement by the end of this year.
We will begin our discussions over dinner on 23 April by hearing from President ZELENSKYY regarding Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.
We will then address the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, which poses serious challenges to the European Union. First, we must discuss our response to this rapidly evolving situation. This includes Europe’s contribution to de-escalation and peace in the region, as well as to the freedom of navigation. Furthermore, the effects of high fossil fuel prices are already visible in the everyday lives of our citizens and companies. Given the potential further negative economic consequences of a prolonged conflict, we will discuss the instruments at our disposal, building on the decisions taken at the March European Council, and on measures proposed by the Commission in follow-up to them. Lastly, the Union’s readiness to respond to the challenging geopolitical and security environment will also be part of this discussion. This could include aspects related to Article 42(7) TEU, in light of ongoing work.
In our working session in the morning of Friday 24 April, we will address the next MFF, a discussion we had foreseen for March, but had to postpone. It has since only become more urgent. We need to have an open discussion about how we can match our ambitions with the appropriate level of financing, including about the importance of New Own Resources. At the same time, I would like us to discuss the contribution of the new EU long-term budget to our competitiveness agenda, because it will be the main instrument at our disposal for common strategic action. We will come back to the MFF regularly during 2026 to create the conditions for a timely agreement.
Following our meeting of Heads of State or Government, we will continue our discussions on current events in the Middle East over an informal working lunch with leaders from the region. This will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views on shared challenges, but also on emerging opportunities for cooperation.
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Our meeting in Cyprus comes at a crucial moment for the European Union’s agenda: it will allow us to revisit the implementation of the decisions that came out of the March European Council, namely in the field of energy; it will provide a moment for coordination and further political guidance in light of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and its impact on European economies; and it will be an important milestone on the way to an agreement on the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
I look forward to seeing you in Cyprus.
António COSTA
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