Volodimir Zelensky is in Brussels this Thursday to meet with the leaders of the European Union. The Belgian capital is the third stage of the European tour of the President of Ukraine. On Wednesday afternoon he visited London to address Parliament and meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before crossing the Channel again to meet Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz in Paris.
Spain will participate in a bilateral meeting with Zelenski
Upon his arrival at the European summit, the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, assured that it was “a very good opportunity” to express “all our solidarity and the unity of the EU as a whole” in his support for Ukraine. Sánchez regretted Putin’s “unilateral, unfair and unjustified aggression against Ukraine”.
During the European summit, the leaders will also discuss the European proposal to challenge US green subsidies. Sánchez bets that the bloc reviews its policies to “transmit a clear message and an unequivocal signal to European industry and foreign investors that Europe is willing to reindustrialize itself in green.” Spain calls for a review of state aid and a limited time frame “linked to a much more agile management” of European funds.
Regarding the immigration debate, Spain calls for a “balance between responsibility and solidarity.” In addition, he has called for “financial and political” support for policies related to foreign action. Especially with regard to “work and coordination with the countries of transit and origin”, Sánchez pointed out.
During the visit to Zelenski, there will be no time for individual bilateral meetings with the 27 leaders, so groups have been formed. The first group is made up of Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Romania and the Netherlands. In addition, Sánchez has met with the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz.
Zelensky is expected to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg later in the day. The military alliance is based in the Belgian capital.
It is “important” that sanctions are not circumvented, Kaja Kallas has assured
Weapons are not the only way the EU can help Ukraine, and Kallas has called for more sanctions against Russia, especially stricter enforcement of those already imposed. “If we have a strong sanctions package, it is important that they are not circumvented. Kallas told reporters. “I really (welcome) the move towards criminalizing circumvention.”
The European Commission has confirmed that the 10th sanctions package will focus particularly on closing loopholes and preventing sanctions that have already been imposed from being circumvented. The new package will be unveiled around the first anniversary of the Russian war. in Ukraine, on February 24.
“I am optimistic” about the next package, Kallas said. “We must give a clear signal on the anniversary.”
Kallas has also ensured that member states should listen to each other’s needs and considerations when drafting sanctions, and maintain the “unity” they have been showing since Vladimir Putin launched the invasion.
Frozen Russian assets and how to use them, top of the agenda
The Twenty-seven have frozen some 300 billion euros of Russian central bank assets and Ukraine wants to use them to help pay for reconstruction. But from the legal point of view, the situation is delicate. Experts from the EU and the G7 countries are studying different options to take advantage of these funds.
In a letter to the presidents of the European Commission and of the Council and to the Swedish Prime Minister, who holds the rotating EU Council Presidency, the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland called on the bloc to be “more creative in time to examine the possible scope and other options to increase the impact of our measures”.
“In our opinion, during the extraordinary European Council in February we should have a conclusive political debate, followed by concrete guidance to the Commission. This guidance will be the basis of the legislative proposal on the use of frozen assets to support the reconstruction of Ukraine , drawn up without undue delay,” they wrote.
Source: Euronews Español
