The special European Council on Thursday 6 March will be an opportunity for the EU27 leaders to send a message of support to Ukraine and to reiterate Europe’s position on the conditions for peace. While the two main topics of the meeting - defence and Ukraine - are far from new, the latest developments between the United States and Ukraine add urgency. Several delegations also spoke of a “moment of consolidation of European unity”. On the subject of the war in Ukraine, the leaders want to start preparing the ground for security guarantees in Kyiv after the war. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will be in Brussels to tell them about his country’s needs.
On Wednesday 5 March, the members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (‘Coreper’) agreed on the draft conclusions on Ukraine, with one exception. Hungary does not support the language of support for Kyiv and intends to veto the adoption of the conclusions.
The cause is not yet lost, according to several European sources, who hope that the Hungarian position will evolve by Thursday evening and that a message of 27 will be possible. The President of the European Council, António Costa, is working on this, as is the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who received the Hungarian Prime Minister in Paris on Wednesday 5 March.
Security guarantees. Hungary aside, the requests for Member States to support Ukraine have been met. The aim was to find a formula that would take account of Ukrainian needs, both now and once peace has been achieved, while not committing to specific actions and figures.
European leaders are expected to signal their readiness “to urgently step up efforts to address Ukraine’s pressing military and defence needs, in particular the delivery of air defence systems, ammunition and missiles, the provision of necessary training and equipment for Ukrainian brigades, and other needs that Ukraine may have”.
They should also support the proposal by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, for a new wave of support for Ukraine, including the potential use of the CSDP and taking into account the respective capabilities of Member States.
According to a senior European official, there is a broad consensus among member countries that more should be given to Ukraine, although no figures are given.
Coordination with partners. Another issue in the discussions on the future of Ukraine is coordination with allies, in particular with the United Kingdom, whose position is broadly in line with that of the EU, but also with the United States, where the situation is more complicated. The text of the European Council conclusions will reportedly mention the consultation of “NATO partners” (and no longer the “transatlantic partner”) in the context of security guarantees, at the request of several European countries.
In recent days, tensions have eased somewhat between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, and several European diplomats are feeling a sense of relief and a more positive note for further discussions.
On Friday morning, the President of the European Council, António Costa, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, will take part in a videoconference meeting with the leaders of several non-EU countries to inform them of the results of the European Summit. Among the guests are the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland and Turkey.
To see the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/fqu (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with the editorial staff)