© Provided by Agencia EFE
Brussels, Apr 10 (EFE).- The foreign ministers of the European Union will meet this Monday in Luxembourg to address the war in Ukraine, following the support trip to kyiv made on Friday by the president of the European Commission. Ursula Von der Leyen, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
The meeting will be held just three days following EU countries approved the fifth package of sanctions since the invasion began, which includes a ban on Russian coal purchases starting in August.
The Twenty-seven currently rule out measures once morest gas and oil, much more lucrative for the Kremlin at a time when the EU pays Russia 1,000 million euros a day in energy purchases, but more difficult to sanction due to the high dependence of the countries from eastern and central Europe.
However, the need to take the step has focused the debates on the war that have been held this week in the community institutions.
Von der Leyen stated in the European Parliament that Brussels is preparing sanctions once morest Russian oil and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that “sooner or later” the option of also punishing gas will have to be considered.
Borrell stated that “the objective” of including oil “will be discussed in the Council of Foreign Ministers”, although European sources insist that the issue “will not be on the table on Monday”, while other sources they do not consider that there is anything “decisive” in the meeting.
The Baltic countries, always afraid of Moscow because of their Soviet past, openly advocate vetoing oil and gas from Russia, despite their dependence, while Germany and Austria are holding back the debate, claiming that they are two difficult energy sources. to substitute in the short term.
The Hungary of Prime Minister Víktor Orbán, which has agreed to pay for gas in rubles, as required by the Kremlin, refuses to sanction these two fossil fuels, in a decision that the EU must take unanimously.
Beyond the restrictive measures, Von der Leyen and Borrell promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky more money to send weapons to Ukraine.
Specifically, an additional 500 million euros to the European Fund in Support of Peace, which already has 1,000 million euros for this objective.
MALI
The EU foreign ministers will also address the situation in Mali and the suspension of the supply of military equipment to the army that has governed the country since last year following carrying out a coup, given the possibility that the weapons end up in the hands of the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries.
(c) EFE Agency
