An agreement between European Parliament and the European Council said cases would be cut if countries lack 'relevant circumstances, such as indiscriminate violence in the context of an armed conflict.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky was in Poland to highlight the important role Kyiv and Warsaw play for the security of Europe. He also thanked EU leaders for agreeing to provide his country with a €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) loan - although approval only came after a fraught, at times heated, summit.

European Union leaders decided to borrow cash to loan $105 billion to Ukraine to fund its defence against Russia for the next two years rather than use frozen Russian assets, sidestepping divisions over an unprecedented plan to finance Kyiv with Russian sovereign cash.

Belgium insists on ironclad guarantees from its EU partners to protect against Russian retaliation before backing a massive loan for Ukraine

After almost four years of war, the International Monetary Fund estimates that Ukraine will need $161 billion in 2026 and 2027. The government in Kyiv is on the verge of bankruptcy, and desperately needs the money by spring.

The tensions arise from a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s military and economic needs for the next two years. Most of that money is blocked at Euroclear, a Brussels-based financial clearinghouse. Belgium fears that Russia will strike back; in the courts or perhaps by other means.

Sweden has granted the Australia-based battery anode and graphite company, Talga Group, the necessary permits to move forward with its Nunasvaara South graphite mine near Vittangi in northern Sweden.

While most Poles still favor remaining in EU, proportion wanting to leave has grown to nearly a quarter - Anadolu Ajansı