On Friday 21 October, European leaders affirmed their willingness to continue their financial and military support to Ukraine, “including for its liquidity needs, and step up its humanitarian response, in particular for winter preparedness”, without however meeting all the expectations expressed the day before by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, during an address to the European Council.
The Ukrainian president said his country needed “more support in implementing our fast recovery plan”. “We already have an idea of the funds needed. Three and a half billion euros this year and about 14 billion euros next year”, he said, regretting that “so far we have received nothing from these funds”. “And they are vital”, he argued.
The European leaders have only committed to 3 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, asking that it be made available to the country “in due course”. In its conclusions, the European Council also invites the Commission to present, and the EU Council to work, on a more structural solution for providing assistance to Ukraine.
“It is important to have a predictable and stable flow of income. Ukraine is telling us that they need approximately 3 to 4 billion euros per month to have enough resources for the basics. The funding should be provided by the EU, the US and international institutions - the discussions are about 1.5 billion for the EU per month, so 18 billion for next year”, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the summit. According to her, since the beginning of 2022, the EU has disbursed 19 billion euros to Ukraine.
“In financial terms, our support is not weakening and we have shown our determination to support the reconstruction of Ukraine”, explained the French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ahead of the reconstruction conference in Berlin on 25 October, Ms von der Leyen also recalled that the reconstruction process and the massive investments needed must be aligned with the need for reform in order to truly pave the way for Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
In their conclusions, the leaders also call on the Commission to present options “in accordance with EU and international law” for using frozen assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“This is necessary so that we can use these funds to help Ukraine in a situation where there is an escalation by Russia, which is trying to damage civilian infrastructure, especially in the field of energy”, said the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas.
The day before, Mr Zelensky had announced that Russia had undermined the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, which if blown up could flood more than 80 localities, including Kherson. The country has requested the deployment of an international observer mission to the dam.
Request for additional military support
The Ukrainian president also called for air and missile defence systems. “We must do everything to make it totally impossible for Russia to destroy our energy system with missiles and drones”, he said, calling on “not only those who produce air and missile defence systems, but also those who have the necessary systems” to supply them to his country.
The leaders made no new announcements, but recalled the latest decisions on military support: an EU military assistance mission in support of Ukraine and a new tranche of the European Peace Facility (see EUROPE 13044/10).
Threat of additional sanctions
As the EU adopted its eighth package of sanctions in early October, Mr Zelensky called for additional “powerful” measures against Russia and Iran for its collaboration with the “terrorist state”, which has supplied drones, but also against Belarus, which is “complicit” with Russia.
“Russia must pay for this terror - and this must be reflected in the EU’s ninth sanctions package. Iran must be denied any possibility or even desire to supply such drones to anyone”, the Ukrainian president explained.
In their conclusions, the leaders express their readiness to continue adopting sanctions and emphasise the need to combat circumvention of measures already adopted.
They also warn that they are ready to take “swift” new sanctions against Belarus and welcome the measures taken against Iran in connection with Russia’s use of Iranian drones in attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine (see EUROPE 13047/3).
On their arrival at the EU Council, several ministers mentioned the possibility of adopting new measures.
According to the Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nausėda, the EU is working on new sanctions against Russia. “We can include many things: some metals, diamonds, as well as people connected to war crimes, to the annexation of the territory of Ukraine. We have a lot of potential to improve our sanctions”, he explained, regretting that although the current sanctions work, unfortunately they have not brought the expected results so far.
“This is becoming more and more difficult, because we don’t have many tools left in our toolbox. That’s why we have to focus on legal responses as well, we have given a very strong political response, but (there needs to be) a legal response by prosecuting crimes”, Ms Kallas added.
She also called for a discussion on the opening of a special court to investigate the crime of aggression. “War crimes are dealt with by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Ukraine, but the crime of aggression can only be dealt with by separate courts”, she insisted, joining the growing number of appeals in this regard (see EUROPE 13042/2, 13024/15). From his side, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a “strong ICC”.
Furthermore, the European Council considered it important to unify EU visa issuing practices with regard to Russian applicants, welcoming the update of the European Commission’s guidelines.
He also said he was determined to counter disinformation “aimed at undermining (the) collective efforts to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and a rules-based international order”.
Although peace does not seem to be in sight, Mr Macron said that “we must continue to talk to the Ukrainian and Russian authorities, because at some point we will have to come back to the table”.
“We have to try to wait for that moment which will be acceptable so that a return to the table is possible and that the discussions resume, I hope as soon as possible”, he stressed, acknowledging that he was not able to say “precisely when the conditions will be fulfilled, because they are not in my hands”.
“They depend on the evolution of the conflict on the ground and on certain sovereign choices that we must respect”, the French president added.
See the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/3r8 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with the editorial staff)