The heads of state and government of the EU member states, who met tonight at an informal summit in Versailles, rule out any rapid accession of Ukraine to the EU.
However, they opened the door for closer ties with her, notes AFP.
Leaders are discussing common European economic and defense responses to the shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Europe has changed under the impact of the pandemic, it will change even faster and harder under the impact of the war,” said French leader Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the summit.
Regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte said that “there is no fast-track procedure for membership in the European Union”. He made the remarks at a time when Ukraine was applying for membership, hoping to join the union as soon as possible. “But we will reaffirm our desire to work intensively with Ukraine,” Rutte added.
“We cannot leave an impression on Ukrainians that anything can happen from today to tomorrow,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bethel warned on his arrival in Versailles. “Should we close the door and say never? That would be unfair,” Macron said of Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.
The summit also includes a dinner at the Gallery of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, where the treaty ending World War I was signed, BTA reported.
The host of the meeting said the war in Ukraine would force member states to make historic decisions to “completely redefine the architecture of our Europe”. He also called for energy decisions, which will lead to concrete proposals at the end of March at the next summit. Macron also called for defense decisions, with an emergency European council on the issue likely in May.
The war launched by Putin in Ukraine also highlighted the lack of European military capabilities, the AFP reported, recalling that member states have greatly reduced their defense budgets since the end of the Cold War.
The war also exposed the EU’s energy dependence on Russia, which limited the union’s actions towards Moscow. Although it has adopted a package of unprecedented sanctions, the EU continues to fund Russia through its energy purchases, which it is unable to get rid of in the short term. This dependence threatens its economy, which must be consolidated by the historic shock of the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reported.
The summit is likely to set out political orientations that will be implemented in the coming months. According to a draft declaration with its conclusions, the 27 will reaffirm NATO’s key role, emphasize their desire to invest even more and better in military capabilities at a time when a European strategy will be published in late March. of defense.
The 27 will also examine the European Commission’s proposal to reduce dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year, but also to reduce Russia’s coal and oil imports by diversifying suppliers and developing alternative energies such as hydrogen and renewable energy sources.
The strengthening of gas reserves will also be discussed, as well as the optimization of the functioning of the electricity market, which was requested by Spain and France. A commitment to new emergency measures to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on European consumers will also be discussed.
Tomorrow, the second day of the summit will be devoted to discussions on strengthening the EU’s economic model. There will be a final press conference in the afternoon.
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