The European heads of state and government recognised, on the night of Thursday 10 to Friday 11 February, Ukraine’s European affiliation, without, however, promising EU candidate status.
“Ukraine is part of our European family”, the declaration they adopted said. “We have a political and heartfelt message (to the Ukrainians): our family is your family”, explained French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, the discussion on Ukraine’s accession to the EU took “a long time” and allowed for more unity among Member States on the fact that Ukraine deserves not only a European perspective, but also that its future lies in the EU.
Mr Jansa explained that there was a majority of Member States who wanted to send a “strong political message” to Ukraine that it belongs to the European family “and those who are still debating the procedure”. Among them, the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, who keeps recalling that the ‘fast track’ procedure requested by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, does not exist and that it will take months, if not years, for the accession process to progress. “Can we have a fast-track procedure with a country at war without looking at any criteria, the answer is no”, Mr Macron added.
“An EU membership process requires a lot of reforms and it’s logical that would go step by step, otherwise we’ll have countries that will become members of the EU without being ready for it”, stressed Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, while considering that it would be a big mistake to close the door to countries that feel threatened. However, for his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenković, everything must be done to make the process move as quick as possible.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed his disappointment, saying that the language of the declaration could have been stronger. He said that he would have liked Ukraine to obtain candidate status. “Zelensky asked me to do everything possible to give hope to Ukrainians, in connection with the EU”, he explained. For his part, Latvia’s Prime Minister, Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, said he preferred to see the glass as half full, believing that a very clear signal had been given that all Member States support that “the way is open for Ukrainians to move closer to the EU”. A sentiment shared by his Estonian counterpart, Kaja Kallas.
While the leaders did not promise candidate status, they did commit, pending the opinion of the European Commission, to further strengthening ties and deepening the partnership “without further delay” to help Ukraine progress on its European path. “We want to support all efforts to strengthen and consolidate ties with Ukraine”, explained the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. Recalling that the EU already had an association agreement with Ukraine that could be deepened, he promised that the EU would work on closer ties from a political point of view - such as regularly inviting Mr Zelensky to participate in the European Council - and on very concrete elements “to connect Ukrainian networks, infrastructure to the EU”.
On the Ukrainian side, the disappointment is palpable. “Among the leaders of states, there are those who support us and there are also those who only support themselves. (...) Today, when I see the support of the people of each country in the squares of European capitals, I know that the Ukrainian people are already in the European Union. And the politicians... I am sure they will adapt to it”, Mr Zelensky stressed in a speech.
Additional support for Ukraine
Hailing the courage of the Ukrainians, the EU leaders pledged in their declaration not to abandon them. “The EU and its Member States will continue to provide coordinated political, financial, material and humanitarian support”, the text says. During the discussion, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, proposed that a further €500 million from the European Peace Facility be made available for Ukraine. Spain also announced on Friday that it was sending new weapons to Ukraine.
EU leaders pledged as well that the EU and its Member States will continue to show solidarity and provide humanitarian, medical and financial support to all refugees and the countries hosting them. More than 2.5 million Ukrainians are reported to have already left the country. “We call for funds to be made available without further delay through the rapid adoption of the proposal for the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) and REACT-EU”, the statement said.
According to the text, EU leaders are also committed to supporting the reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine, once the Russian offensive has ended.
New sanctions against Russia
Beyond supporting Ukraine, the leaders reiterated their determination to put even more pressure on Russia and Belarus as “Russia has brought war to Europe”. “We have adopted significant sanctions and we stand ready to adopt new ones quickly”, they warn.
While the G7 has announced its determination to further isolate Russia from its economies and the international financial system and has therefore pledged to take further measures as soon as possible (see other news), the President of the European Commission announced on Friday that the EU will adopt further measures in the coming hours. She cited the ban on the export of all European luxury goods from our countries to Russia and the import of essential iron and steel goods from Russia. Mrs von der Leyen also warned that the international community would continue to put pressure on Russian elites close to Putin, announcing a meeting next week of G7 Finance, Justice and Interior Ministers to coordinate the working group set up to target Putin’s supporters.
While the EU has already taken measures targeting cryptocurrencies this week, the Commission President announced that the EU will ensure that the Russian State and its elites cannot use crypto-assets to circumvent sanctions. The EU will also deny Russia most-favoured nation status in European markets and will work to suspend Russia’s rights in key multilateral financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, she announced, adding that it will ensure that Russia cannot obtain financing, loans or other benefits from these institutions.
Finally, Mrs von der Leyen announced that she would propose a massive ban on new European investments in the Russian energy sector. “This ban will affect all investments, technology transfers, financial services, etc. for energy exploration and production and will therefore have a considerable impact on Putin”, she announced.
In front of the media, the French President warned that “if Russia [...] intensifies the bombing, lays siege to Kyiv, we will have to take massive sanctions, nothing is forbidden, we will do everything we consider effective to stop Russia”.
Several leaders also reiterated the importance of implementing the sanctions already adopted, at an intense pace, in recent weeks. “The goal is that all the sanctions adopted are already applied (...) the whole point is that it is effective and that it works and that we try to have a ceasefire”, explained Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel. He felt it was important that sanctions be made conditional on targets; “that we say there will be new sanctions if there is no ceasefire within 72 hours; we have to put pressure”. For Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the heavier the sanctions, the less likely the conflict will spread elsewhere.
The leaders also promised that Russia would be held accountable for its actions. “Russia and its accomplice Belarus bear full responsibility for this war of aggression and those responsible will be held accountable for their crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian property”, the EU27 warned, welcoming the decision of the International Criminal Court Prosecutor to open an investigation.
See the statement of the EU27: https://aeur.eu/f/qa; that of the President of the European Commission: https://aeur.eu/f/qf; and that of the G7: https://aeur.eu/f/qe (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Mathieu Bion and Pascal Hansens)