Versailles: The European Union Refusal to complete the meeting of leaders in France on Thursday UkraineDemands fast-track integration with the bloc as they discuss ways to help a country that has been invaded Russia,
EU countries fully united to support Ukraine’s resistance in an unprecedented way economic sanctions against Russia in the last two weeks
But leaders are divided on how fast Brussels How quickly the 27-nation bloc could move to accept Ukraine as a member, and sever energy ties with Moscow.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on his EU allies to offer his country immediate EU membership as proof of support. However, an agreement on that point would not be achieved during the two-day summit held at the Palace of Versailles, west of Paris, where French President Emmanuel long sign on english vowel welcomed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2017.
After nine hours of crisis talks, heads of state and government ended the first day of discussions with an agreement on a language that acknowledged Ukraine’s “European aspirations”, but held off on moving forward in the process. .
“It was an opportunity to show unwavering, steadfast support for Ukraine, that is, to be financially committed, In factEuropean Union Council President Charles Michel said. “It is clear that Ukraine is a member of the European family and we would like to support all efforts to strengthen and strengthen ties with Ukraine.”
For now, Ukraine only has an “association agreement” with the European Union, aimed at opening up Ukraine’s markets and bringing it closer to Europe. It includes a far-reaching free trade agreement and helps modernize Ukraine’s economy.
The Ukrainian fast-track bid has received warm support in Eastern European countries, but EU officials have insisted that the process could take years, with a consensus among existing members to allow a newcomer to the club. Necessary.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU should send a “strong signal” of support for Ukraine, but ruled out the possibility of the country joining the bloc any time soon.
“Can we open the merger process (in the EU) with the warring country today? I don’t think so,'” Macron said. ‘Shall we close the door and say (from Ukraine): ‘Never?’ That would be unfair.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Root said he told Zelensky that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union could not be accelerated.
“There’s nothing like a fast track, fast procedure,” Rutte said. “We also have to take into account the Western Balkan countries, which sometimes have been working for more than a decade to become a candidate nation for membership. Think Albania and Macedonia. Let us see what we can do in practical terms.
Another major deterrent to the hasty decision _ which Macron described _ is the specific EU treaty clause that if a member is the victim of an armed attack, other EU countries have an obligation to do everything in their power. Kindly help and help.
But the Baltic nations in particular, with their Soviet past, want to reach Ukraine.
“It is also important for Ukraine to show a clear open door to EU membership, that the path is open to them and we want them as a family of democratic nations,” Latvian Prime Minister Krysjanis Karins said. “It’s a very important sign for Ukrainians right now.”
The leaders’ talks also focused on how to reduce Russia’s energy dependence and enhance the region’s defense capabilities.
According to an EU official who was not authorized to speak publicly, potential new sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus _ including cutting all its banks from the SWIFT major system for global financial transactions _ were also on the table. .
“The energy sector is the main source of income for the Kremlin, about 600 million euros a day,” Karins said. “If we stopped the purchase of Russian energy, it would stop funding the Russian military machine.”
All leaders agree that the EU should reduce its dependence on Russian gas, oil and coal imports while accelerating the green transition. The EU imports 90% of the natural gas used for electricity, heat houses and the supply industry, Russia supplies about 40% of the EU’s gas and a quarter of oil.
Earlier this week, the European Commission proposed to diversify natural gas supplies and spur renewable energy development to cut EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.
Macron said the purpose of the talks at Versailles was to determine at what pace the EU could reduce its dependence, then withdraw as the year-end deadline proposed by the Commission seems unrealistic to many member states.
It is also unlikely that leaders will follow Washington’s lead anytime soon and unanimously support a complete ban on Russian oil and gas imports on Friday. France will not defend what it considers a radical measure, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made it clear that he opposes the idea.
Efforts to agree a boycott are complicated because some EU countries, including Germany and Italy, rely much more heavily on Russia than others. Poland gets 67% of its oil from Russia, while Ireland gets only 5%.
Rutte said it was important that the EU did not rush to impose a complete ban on gas and oil from Russia.
The EU has shown remarkable solidarity since the war broke out last month. It adopted massive sanctions targeting Putin himself, Russia’s financial system and its high-maintenance oligarchs. It took the unprecedented step of collectively supplying weapons to the country under attack.
According to a draft of the summit’s findings obtained by the Associated Press, leaders will agree at Versailles that they should “strongly increase their investment in defense capabilities and innovative technologies,” and continue efforts to make the EU “a” to keep. Stronger and more capable security provider.’
EU countries fully united to support Ukraine’s resistance in an unprecedented way economic sanctions against Russia in the last two weeks
But leaders are divided on how fast Brussels How quickly the 27-nation bloc could move to accept Ukraine as a member, and sever energy ties with Moscow.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on his EU allies to offer his country immediate EU membership as proof of support. However, an agreement on that point would not be achieved during the two-day summit held at the Palace of Versailles, west of Paris, where French President Emmanuel long sign on english vowel welcomed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2017.
After nine hours of crisis talks, heads of state and government ended the first day of discussions with an agreement on a language that acknowledged Ukraine’s “European aspirations”, but held off on moving forward in the process. .
“It was an opportunity to show unwavering, steadfast support for Ukraine, that is, to be financially committed, In factEuropean Union Council President Charles Michel said. “It is clear that Ukraine is a member of the European family and we would like to support all efforts to strengthen and strengthen ties with Ukraine.”
For now, Ukraine only has an “association agreement” with the European Union, aimed at opening up Ukraine’s markets and bringing it closer to Europe. It includes a far-reaching free trade agreement and helps modernize Ukraine’s economy.
The Ukrainian fast-track bid has received warm support in Eastern European countries, but EU officials have insisted that the process could take years, with a consensus among existing members to allow a newcomer to the club. Necessary.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU should send a “strong signal” of support for Ukraine, but ruled out the possibility of the country joining the bloc any time soon.
“Can we open the merger process (in the EU) with the warring country today? I don’t think so,'” Macron said. ‘Shall we close the door and say (from Ukraine): ‘Never?’ That would be unfair.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Root said he told Zelensky that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union could not be accelerated.
“There’s nothing like a fast track, fast procedure,” Rutte said. “We also have to take into account the Western Balkan countries, which sometimes have been working for more than a decade to become a candidate nation for membership. Think Albania and Macedonia. Let us see what we can do in practical terms.
Another major deterrent to the hasty decision _ which Macron described _ is the specific EU treaty clause that if a member is the victim of an armed attack, other EU countries have an obligation to do everything in their power. Kindly help and help.
But the Baltic nations in particular, with their Soviet past, want to reach Ukraine.
“It is also important for Ukraine to show a clear open door to EU membership, that the path is open to them and we want them as a family of democratic nations,” Latvian Prime Minister Krysjanis Karins said. “It’s a very important sign for Ukrainians right now.”
The leaders’ talks also focused on how to reduce Russia’s energy dependence and enhance the region’s defense capabilities.
According to an EU official who was not authorized to speak publicly, potential new sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus _ including cutting all its banks from the SWIFT major system for global financial transactions _ were also on the table. .
“The energy sector is the main source of income for the Kremlin, about 600 million euros a day,” Karins said. “If we stopped the purchase of Russian energy, it would stop funding the Russian military machine.”
All leaders agree that the EU should reduce its dependence on Russian gas, oil and coal imports while accelerating the green transition. The EU imports 90% of the natural gas used for electricity, heat houses and the supply industry, Russia supplies about 40% of the EU’s gas and a quarter of oil.
Earlier this week, the European Commission proposed to diversify natural gas supplies and spur renewable energy development to cut EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.
Macron said the purpose of the talks at Versailles was to determine at what pace the EU could reduce its dependence, then withdraw as the year-end deadline proposed by the Commission seems unrealistic to many member states.
It is also unlikely that leaders will follow Washington’s lead anytime soon and unanimously support a complete ban on Russian oil and gas imports on Friday. France will not defend what it considers a radical measure, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made it clear that he opposes the idea.
Efforts to agree a boycott are complicated because some EU countries, including Germany and Italy, rely much more heavily on Russia than others. Poland gets 67% of its oil from Russia, while Ireland gets only 5%.
Rutte said it was important that the EU did not rush to impose a complete ban on gas and oil from Russia.
The EU has shown remarkable solidarity since the war broke out last month. It adopted massive sanctions targeting Putin himself, Russia’s financial system and its high-maintenance oligarchs. It took the unprecedented step of collectively supplying weapons to the country under attack.
According to a draft of the summit’s findings obtained by the Associated Press, leaders will agree at Versailles that they should “strongly increase their investment in defense capabilities and innovative technologies,” and continue efforts to make the EU “a” to keep. Stronger and more capable security provider.’