European leaders discuss financial and military aid to Ukraine and Bosnia’s entry into the bloc

2024-03-21 10:41:20

With the prospect that the war in Ukraine will not end anytime soon, European Union leaders will meet this Thursday and Friday (21st and 22nd) in Brussels to discuss how to increase and finance military support for Ukraine and strengthen Ukraine’s defense. block itself. The meeting’s agenda also includes other highlights such as the situation in the Middle East and the expansion of the EU, with the possible entry of Bosnia-Herzegovina. New farmer protests are expected.

Letícia Fonseca-Sourander, RFI correspondent in Brussels

On the eve of the European Council, the bloc’s head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, proposed the confiscation of €27 billion over the next four years from profits from Russian assets frozen in Europe that would be intended to buy weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.

The idea is not to sell the assets, but to allocate the income obtained from them to Kiev. According to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, there could be no better purpose for these funds than to spend them on strengthening the defense of Ukraine and the whole of Europe. In fact, while Paris and Berlin compete over which strategy to use for Ukraine, Von der Leyen should use the discussion about strengthening defense to help her win a second term in front of the European executive.

The proposal on the use of proceeds from frozen Russian assets will be presented to European leaders this Thursday (21). Moscow’s reaction was immediate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the use of these resources represents “a violation of international laws” and threatened people and governments involved in making such decisions with lengthy legal proceedings.

Around 200 billion euros of Russia’s Central Bank reserves are frozen in the West, much of it in foreign currency, gold and government bonds. During the meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to ask allies to increase financial support for Ukraine. Scholz’s effort comes after Germany approved the sending of a €500 million package to Kiev, which includes the supply of 10,000 munitions. However, the German Chancellor has refused to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine. With a range of 500 kilometers, they could hit targets in Moscow.

EU wants immediate humanitarian pause in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that no international pressure will stop Israel from launching an offensive on Rafah, a city in the south of the Palestinian territory. In Brussels, European leaders must demand an immediate humanitarian pause that leads to a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The bloc’s heads of state and government are expected to appeal to Israel not to move forward with its military operation in Rafah, where almost 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge. European leaders must once again call for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

They must also reinforce the need for cooperation with partners in the region to avoid regional escalation. Since the Hamas attack on Israel in October last year, the European Union has condemned the brutality of the Hamas attack, recognized Israel’s right to defend itself but in accordance with international law and community international law, and has expressed its deep concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina

European Union leaders are preparing to open the doors of membership to Bosnia-Herzegovina, eight years after the country applied to become a member of the bloc. Deep-rooted ethnic divisions and delays in constitutional, judicial and electoral reforms led to a delay of several years.

Last week, the European Commission finally gave the green light to begin negotiations with Sarajevo. However, for negotiations to begin, the European executive’s recommendation must be approved by the bloc’s 27 leaders.

For Brussels, with the return of war to the European continent and increasing geopolitical uncertainty, maintaining the integration of the Western Balkans is also a question of security and stability on the continent. In addition to the bloc’s expansion, the European Council is expected to discuss the EU’s response to current concerns in the agricultural sector. And while leaders fail to reach a consensus on the issue, new protests by farmers promise to shake up the streets of the Belgian capital.