Donald Tusk spoke with Emanuel Macron in Budapest

Since Thursday, EU leaders have been in Budapest, where the European Political Community summit took place, bringing together leaders from twenty non-EU European countries.

On Friday, the informal European Council meeting was held in the Hungarian capital, during which Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Council meeting actually began on Thursday evening when, during a dinner, EU leaders discussed topics including the European Union's relations with the United States and new regulations adopted by the Israeli government prohibiting the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

On Thursday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued a joint statement expressing concern over the parliamentary election process in Georgia.

"Unless Georgia reverses its current course of action and demonstrates tangible reform efforts, in particular by repealing recent legislation that runs counter to European values and principles, we will not be in a position to support the opening of accession negotiations with Georgia," they stated.

One of the key issues discussed on Friday was indeed the post-election situation in Georgia. Additionally, EU leaders were to address the competitiveness of the European Union.

The leaders also discussed a new EU competitiveness agreement, drawing on recently published reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi. Draghi was to personally present the document, The Future of European Competitiveness, to the leaders during the meeting.

Also in attendance were Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and Paschal Donohoe, President of the Eurogroup. Although the competitiveness topic had been initially scheduled for discussion during the October meeting in Brussels, it had been postponed due to a focus on migration issues.

The Friday meeting in Budapest was informal, meaning no binding decisions could have been made. However, it provided an important opportunity for EU leaders to discuss current pressing issues.

On Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his counterparts from Poland and the Czech Republic on the sidelines of the Budapest summit as he seeks to forge stronger relationships with European partners following the UK's departure from the European Union.

Starmer thanked both leaders for making time to meet him, telling Tusk that Poland and the UK shared common values. Tusk said the UK was still a "member of our political family."

In his meeting with Fiala the British Prime Minister also referenced his country's agreement with the Czech electricity producer CEZ to take a minority stake in Rolls-Royce to take part in the small nuclear reactor technology's roll-out in Britain, the Czech Republic and beyond.