“Europe must become more dominant, more responsible for its defense and better equipped to handle the immediate and future challenges,” the draft conclusions of the European Defense and the European Defense and which will take place in Brussels on Thursday (6/3). The draft, located in the hands of the “Step”, characterizes Russia’s war in Ukraine “existential challenge for the EU”.
The European Council, convened by its president, Antonio Costa, and will be participated by European leaders plus the Ukrainian president, will invite the Member States, according to the draft conclusions, to expedite the funding for defense, to limit “strategic dependencies”, to reinforce its “strategic dependencies”, to reinforce Europe’s “strategic dependencies”, required ”and increase their defensive costs. It will also invite the European Commission to propose “without delay” flexible ways “within the Stability and Development Pact to facilitate significant defense spending at national level” as well as to propose “additional sources of EU defense funding”.
Among the priority areas mentioned in the draft conclusions are air and missile defense, artillery systems, rockets and ammunition, drones and anti -drones systems, means of protecting vital infrastructure, including in relation to space – always “in the context of European defense”.
It also emphasizes the importance of protecting European borders, in particular “the EU eastern borders that are more exposed to threats from Russia and Belarus”. Finally, he is eagerly awaiting “the White Bible for the future of European defense, including data to substantially strengthen its funding”.
The European Defense will then be discussed at the regular European Councils on March 20-21 and June 26-27.
To end the war, the draft conclusions stresses that “there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine” and that “there can be no negotiations affecting European security without Europe’s involvement”. It says that “a truce can only be applied as part of a comprehensive peace agreement” and that such an agreement “must be accompanied by strong and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine”.
Finally, since “peace through power” requires Ukraine to be in the strongest position “before peacekeeping negotiations, in their time”, he stresses that the EU remains committed to providing “political, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine”.
