The list of participants for the lunch hosted by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), which is intended for “like-minded EU state and government leaders,” has been released. According to the Federal Press Office, Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden will attend the gathering at the Chancellor’s Office on Thursday afternoon.
The meeting had been initially announced by government spokesman Stefan Kornelius on Monday, though he had kept the attendees largely secret until now. Kornelius stated that the purpose of the event is to hold discussions regarding the next multi-year EU financial framework (MFR) covering the period from 2028 to 2034.
Reports suggest that Sweden was the last country added to the list, while the participation of the others was largely decided beforehand. It was also confirmed that France will not be represented at the meeting.
