The European Union’s heads of state and government will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for what is virtually a monothematic summit – about war.
With the summit taking place at a time of “great instability and insecurity”, support for Ukraine is one of the topics on the agenda. However, the President of the European Council believes that recent events in the Middle East “require immediate attention” from European leaders. Charles Michel hopes the 27 can with one voice condemn what he describes as Hamas’ “brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks on Israel.”
European Council President Charles Michel expects European leaders to jointly express “the recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself” as long as this is “in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law.”
Members of the European Council will reiterate their call for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”. On the other hand, they warn of “the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” which, they say, “remains a cause for great concern.”
According to a working document consulted by DN, the conclusions should include a call for a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid to reach the ground. However, the subject is sensitive and not everyone agrees with this formulation. However, this summit rules out the possibility of the 27 calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East, which was favored by the Portuguese government.
However, the European Union must condemn “in the strongest terms” any form of violence and hostility against citizens. This summit should demonstrate the European Union’s willingness to work together with regional partners to protect citizens.
The priority for now is to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the ground, with ‘aid’, ‘access to food’, ‘water’, ‘medical care’ or, for example, ‘fuel’.
In addition to avoiding “a regional escalation of the conflict,” the 27 should support the relaunch of the peace process based on a two-state solution as “the only way forward.”
Migrations
“Finally, we must address the consequences of this conflict for the European Union, analyzing its consequences for the cohesion of our societies, our security and our migration movements,” the President of the European Council said in the usual letter of invitation to the European Union. 27.
Around the table: “There are a few [chefes de Estado ou de Governo] who want to make the connection between the issue of migration and the wave of violence and attacks on European soil, a source told DN.
However, the same source believed that “this connection should not be made” and should be “very careful” with this approach, recalling that “migrations are not a security problem from the Commission’s point of view”.
Ukraine
As for Ukraine, the 27 member states should reiterate their “unwavering support” for “as long as necessary.”
Charles Michel plans to discuss “ways to accelerate the delivery of military support” and to evaluate “the progress of plans to use frozen assets” through sanctions.
On this issue, Brussels puts three premises on the table: on the one hand, it is up to “Russia to pay for this war,” until then “there will be no asset release,” and that “the reconstruction of Ukraine cannot at the expense of European taxpayers”
Multiannual financial framework
The summit has other topics on the agenda related to the functioning of the community apparatus itself, with the revision of the multiannual financial framework. But no progress is expected in this chapter. “Our meeting will also provide an opportunity to provide advice on the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework,” the President of the European Council said, emphasizing that the aim is to “reach an agreement quickly”.
At the headquarters of the community administration, this agreement is expected to be reached at the latest “by the end of the year”, a DN source said, even to allow support to Ukraine, within the scope of the budget.
Ahead of a lengthy discussion in the coming months, Charles Michel stressed that “there is no agreement on anything unless there is agreement on everything.”
“We must critically examine our most pressing needs, identify our priorities and decide how to finance them,” he stressed.
Source: DN
