Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni used the Brussels summit to argue that climate policies are driving up energy prices, as European leaders met amid a recent explosion in fuel costs.
The gathering on 15 October 2026 brought together disputes over persistently expensive energy, competition from China and the EU’s next long-term budget framework for 2028–2034.
Several prime ministers and presidents blamed climate policies for the energy-price spike. The policies were taking much of the political blame, though they were not behind the current price shock.
The draft conclusions pointed to a possible retreat on one part of the climate agenda. They proposed a one-year delay to methane-emissions requirements affecting oil and gas imports.
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The budget negotiations carry their own difficulty. The 2028–2034 framework requires unanimity, and leaders plan a special summit in late November to try to reach agreement.
China was another point of pressure. The European Commission recently reached an agreement with Beijing to limit Chinese hybrid-car imports.
Germany, which had opposed EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, now supports Franco-German proposals for stronger action. Those proposals include measures concerning chemicals and PET packaging plastics.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to join Friday’s discussions, where financing for 2027 is among the subjects expected to be discussed.
Beyond Brussels, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is seeking to pressure the World Bank into financing more oil and gas projects.
China, meanwhile, says it prevented oil prices from rising to $200 a barrel.
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