looks like a normal day in the EU quarter. But a closer look shows a number of people scrambling up and down the EU’s new 312 million Euro European Council building. Greenpeace activists tied themselves to the window frames and let off loud sirens to remind EU leaders about what they consider a climate emergency.

A few metres away, NGO Our Fish had a reminder to EU leaders to support the ocean in their new European Green Deal and put an end to overfishing by 2020.

“We are happy that the EU Green Deal has made big commitments in terms of ambition, but we need to ensure that the ocean is at the centre of European Green Deal. Because he ocean supports all life on the planet,” explains Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish.

It’s a big day for EU Council president Charles Michel, chairing the summit for the first time, with a weighty task on his shoulders.

“Climate neutrality is a very important goal. It is a atrong signal for future of Europe. Means you have to invest massively in research and innovation and new, strong projects for future of Europe.

However, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic are calling for more funding and nuclear power to be a part of the climate deal up for discussion this Thursday.

“If we want to reach carbon neutrality, we need to understand that eveyr member state has a different energy mix and to reach this carbon neutrality it has different costs concerning Czech Republic, it will be maybe 30-40 billion euros,” Andrej Babis, Prime Minister Czech Republic told reporters as he arrived at the meeting.

While Charles Michel awaits his fellow leaders and lengthy debates about the European Green Deal and the future EU budget, farmers from Lithuania played traditional music to call for better payments to Baltic farmers. Like Greenpeace and Our Fish, hoping that leaders are listening to the voice of the people.