EU LEADERS MEET IN BRUSSELS TO TACKLE BUDGET, TURKEY SANCTIONS

In a likely last face-to-face meeting of the year, the EU heads of states and governments will convene in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to patch over internal disagreements and put a united front towards external challenges, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

One big hurdle to clear is the 1.8-trillion-euro (2.2-trillion-dollar) recovery and budget package, which Hungary and Poland have been blocking over a separate rule-of-law tool.

While it looked on Wednesday like they were dropping their resistance to a rule-of-law mechanism they strongly oppose, the issue is politically sensitive and not an easy pass. Sanctions against Turkey over controversial Mediterranean seismic exploration are also expected to be discussed.

European Council President Charles Michel expressed optimism ahead of the talks. "I am confident that we can find an agreement on a common package to allow for the swift implementation of both the Multiannual Financial Framework and the recovery fund," he wrote in an invitation letter to the leaders on Wednesday. Other senior EU diplomats also expressed cautious hope that the package could be approved on Thursday or Friday.