The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, warned in a debate at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday 10 February that the EU was not “intimidated” by Russia and that he hoped for coordination and cooperation on Russia between the EU, the United States and the United Kingdom to be tough and firm, while remaining calm.
On the same day, the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU discussed the EU High Representative’s trip to Moscow. Unlike the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12654/3), the ambassadors felt, according to one source, that although the journey had been difficult, this was normal and that dialogue with unfriendly interlocutors was necessary. However, a delegation from Eastern Europe reportedly felt that the visit had come at a bad time and that Russia was exploiting it.
According to this source, a dozen member states have called for “a united EU approach to the hostile posture” of Russia, and the Baltic states and Poland have called for sanctions. Several Member States called for continued engagement with civil society and the Russian population.
In addition, the European External Action Service presented the ambassadors with a long-term analysis, with the possibility of sanctions, to continue engagement with civil society, to combat disinformation or to maintain space for engagement on issues of common interest, such as climate change. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)