BRUSSELS, Mar. 21 (Maroc-Actu) –
EU foreign ministers will discuss developments in the war in Ukraine on Monday and how to offer more support to kyiv in the face of Russia’s invasion. A political agreement should be found to send more arms to Ukraine and an additional 500 million euros.
The Foreign Affairs Council meeting will be the first European meeting of a week marked by the presence of US President Joe Biden at the European summit on March 24, and during which the bloc intends to reaffirm its firmness in the face of the invasion. of Ukraine by Russia.
However, the adoption of the fund intended to support the delivery of lethal weapons to Ukraine is not scheduled for Monday, due to legal problems. “No Member State questions the need for continued military assistance to Ukraine. The political message will be in unison”, explained a senior European official.
This announcement follows the proposal made by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, to EU leaders at last week’s summit in Versailles, France, to boost by 500 million additional euros the European Peace Facility, which the Union uses to subsidize arms deliveries to a country in conflict for the first time in its history.
European diplomacy has already confirmed that a significant number of weapons have been sent to Ukraine, and affirms that the total value of the aid exceeds 500 million euros, hence the desire to extend this subsidy to Member States if the weapons sent to kyiv meet the criteria set by Brussels, that is to say that they are defensive weapons and that they meet the needs of the Ukrainian army.
FIFTH ROUND OF SANCTIONS
As regards possible measures once morest Russia, the EU is already working on a fifth round of sanctions which would fill in the gaps of the previous rounds and extend the restrictions already in place, such as the disconnection of more of Russian banks of the SWIFT transfer connection system.
Diplomatic sources say EU still has option to apply more measures if situation worsens, following fears that Russia may use chemical weapons once morest Ukrainian population, and option of embargo on Russian oil, already adopted by the United States, is still on the table.
The meeting will adopt the “strategic compass”, the EU-27 defense “roadmap”, which had to be adapted to recent events in Ukraine. This document, which aims to be the defense white paper for the next decade, defines the security priorities in Europe and in the neighbourhood, as well as the objectives of joint military development in the EU.
This includes a rapid deployment capability, meaning that the EU has the means to react with up to 5,000 troops in crisis situations. The idea is that the EU must be able to act decisively to ensure its security, and to this end, particular importance is given to the joint European maneuvers that the EU intends to launch next year.
Foreign ministers will also discuss the situation in Mali and the future of the European military training mission, EUTM Mali. The 27 are working on an options document, although they agree on the intention to maintain the mission if the junta offers the minimum security conditions on the ground.
