12/03/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 12 March, the Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) began preparations for the Spring European Council, officially scheduled for Thursday 20 and Friday 21 March, although according to a European source, the aim of its President, António Costa, is to concentrate the work on Thursday. The draft conclusions of the European Council on Monday 10 March, of which Agence Europe has received a copy, cover a number of sectoral issues including competitiveness, energy, capital markets and migration. The sections on Ukraine and defence will be drafted at a later date, taking account of geopolitical developments and the proposals that the European Commission is due to make in its ‘White Paper on the Future of European Defence’, due on Wednesday 19 March. See the draft conclusions of the European Council: https://aeur.eu/f/fwc (MB)