STORY: European leaders are meeting for a second day in Brussels on Friday (June 19) after Iran peace talks due to start in Switzerland were postponed and at the end of a NATO meeting that included Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskkiy told the EU summit on Thursday that the future of Europe was being shaped by the defence of Ukraine and the best security guarantee for the bloc's future would be to grant Kyiv fast-track membership.

Both the Ukraine and Iran on the agenda at the summit.

A statement issued by the European Council on Thursday welcomed the beginning of accession talks for Ukraine and said it "looks forward to the opening of the other clusters, in line with the merit-based approach".

On a separate issue, Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who is at the EU summit, said on Friday that the Czech Republic will not meet NATO's minimum defence spending target again this year, but will aim to meet it from 2027.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

EU leaders arrive for day two of EU Summit in Brussels

VIDEO SHOWS: EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS ARRIVING FOR SECOND DAY OF EUROPEAN SUMMIT

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JUNE 19, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION - Access all)

1. INTERIOR OF EUROPEAN UNION (EU) COUNCIL BUILDING

2. EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN ARRIVING

3. GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ ARRIVING

4. JOURNALISTS AT ARRIVALS HALL

5. ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI ARRIVING

5. DANISH PRIME MINISTER METTE FREDERIKSEN ARRIVING

6. CZECH PRIME MINISTER ANDREJ BABIS WALKING

7. BABIS SPEAKING TO PRESS

8. EXTERIOR OF EU COUNCIL BUILDING