Once again, after 6 March (see EUROPE 13594/2), on Thursday 20 March twenty-six out of twenty-seven of the EU Member States – Hungary is not joining in – are due to approve a text giving their support to Ukraine and reiterating their approach to ‘peace through strength’.
According to the draft conclusions dated 19 March and obtained by Agence Europe, the EU Council is to welcome the joint statement by Ukraine and the United States of 11 March, in particular the proposals for a ceasefire agreement, and call on Russia “to demonstrate genuine political will to end the war”.
The leaders will be briefed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video conference on his discussions with US President Donald Trump and possible next steps.
In the conclusions, the European Council also reaffirms its support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, and welcomes all efforts to achieve this. It reiterates that the EU and its Member States will contribute to the peace process and to guaranteeing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, in the interests of Ukraine and Europe as a whole. “A comprehensive peace agreement, respectful of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, must be accompanied by solid and credible security guarantees for Ukraine to deter any future Russian aggression”, the Heads of State or Government reiterate. They state that the EU and its Member States are ready to contribute to security guarantees, “in particular by supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself effectively, on the basis of their respective competences and capabilities, in accordance with international law”.
Noting the initiatives to strengthen military support for Ukraine, the European Council calls on the Member States to urgently step up their efforts to meet Kyiv’s urgent needs. Similarly, pledging regular and predictable financial support to Ukraine, the European Council calls for all necessary steps to be taken swiftly to accelerate funding under the ‘Ukraine Facility’ and the G7 ERA initiative, and to use all possibilities offered by the ‘Ukraine Facility’ to increase this financial support.
Finally, emphasising Ukraine’s right to choose its own destiny, the European leaders stressed the importance of making progress in the country’s EU accession negotiations. In a letter obtained by Agence Europe on 18 March, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark and Sweden even called for the process to be speeded up, stressing the importance of opening the cluster of chapters on Fundamentals “as soon as possible” and calling for all clusters to be opened “by the end of 2025”. While Hungary is blocking the process, these countries add that bilateral issues should be resolved through dialogue in good faith.
See the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/g0w (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)