Europe live: EU heads meet as Belgian and Czech leaders condemn Russian meddling in elections

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The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has arrived for the meeting.

'Serious allegation': Belgian prime minister raises Russia influence concern

Arriving at the summit, the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, said that there is a “serious allegation” that Russia has played an “active role in trying to influence our democracy.”

“We have to be very clear on that, that attempts like this are non-acceptable. And that we have to do everything to defend our democracy.”

Speaking about the Middle East, the Belgian prime minister said “we clearly condemn” Iran’s attacks and that his position is that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard should be put on a sanctions list. “I think it would be a very important signal to give,” he said, adding: “we ask for restraint in reactions.”

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has arrived at the Council building.

Meanwhile, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has spoken with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

“Delays in aid have consequences on the ground every day,” Stoltenberg said.

“So my message to Allies is clear: Send more to Ukraine. We also agreed to convene the NATO-Ukraine Council this Friday,” he said.

Russia has pivoted as much as 30% of its GDP into the war economy, compared to 2% being put into the defence in Ukraine by western allies, a senior NATO official has said.

James Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary general for Innovation, hybrid and Cyber NATO, told the European Aerospace, Security and Defence (ASD) annual summit in Brussels on Wednesday that “factories are running around the clock”, with an estimated 2.5% of the 144m strong Russian population now in the weapons manufacturing industry.

The estimates come as the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, urged G7 nations to intensify defence efforts in Ukraine.

The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh reported the local mayor in Kharkiv warning that the city was at risk of becoming “a second Aleppo” unless US aid was released.

Belgium and the Czech Republic bring up Russian interference

The Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, and the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, have written a joint letter raising concerns about Russian interference in electoral processes in Europe.

De Croo is calling on fellow prime ministers to establish new restrictive measures against the Kremlin to “counter Russian malign activities” in the wake of the Czech discovery of alleged payment to MEPs.

In a two page letter to the presidents of the EU commission, council and parliament, he also wants leaders to examine whether the European anti-fraud office, OLOF, and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office have enough powers.

“If this were not the case, we should not rule out an expansion of these mandates to allow such prosecution in the future,” he said.

Last Friday De Croo revealed that the Belgian federal police had opened an investigation into Russian interference in the European parliament as a result of payments allegedly made elsewhere in Europe.

Leaders to condemn Iran's attack on Israel

The latest draft conclusions, seen by the Guardian, include strong language on Iran.

“The European Council strongly and unequivocally condemns the Iranian attack on Israel and reiterates its full solidarity with the people of Israel and commitment to Israel’s security and to regional stability.”

The leaders are expected to add:

“The European Council calls on Iran and its proxies to cease all attacks and urges all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from any action that may increase tensions in the region. The European Union will take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles. The European Union remains fully committed to contributing to de-escalation and security in the region.”

And another new face at today’s meeting: Portugal’s Luís Montenegro.

“Malta will continue to advocate for peace & equal access to the Single Market for all European citizens,” the Maltese prime minister, Robert Abela, said ahead of today’s meeting.

Ahead of the leaders’ meeting, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, held a meeting about ammunition and air defences for Ukraine.

Earlier today, European home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson came close to tears as the spoke at a gathering marking the second anniversary of the imprisonment of Swedish EU diplomat Johan Floderus.

Recalling his disappearance and the confirmation he had been detained by the Iranian authorities, Yohansson said they found out he was “was in prison for imaginary crimes” that “he is kept in a small cell in inhumane conditions”.

“Johan was part of my cabinet, my team for almost two years and I can’t believe he has been in this prison for a longer time than he was a member of my cabinet,” she said.

She described him as “one of the brightest stars” in her office, someone who was able to “calm” others down in times of stress. When he left to go to the Afghan desk in the external services arm of the EU he was realising his dream.

“Now his dream has turned into a nightmare. In my team we talk a lot about Johan, we have done so now for two years, almost on a weekly basis, we miss him so much, we talk about a lot of happy moments, We laugh a lot when we talk about Johan, but we also cry because we miss him. We just want him to come back,” she said.

She said she was working closely with Sweden which is fighting for his release from Teheran. “We condemn his imprisonment and demand his release”.