Delivery time2024-11-07 05:30
European Political Community/EU Summit in Hungary… Orban: We need a new Ukraine strategy
EU, keenly aware of security and trade repercussions… Ukraine likely to appeal for expanded support
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(Brussels = Yonhap News) Correspondent Bitna Jeong = Leaders of European countries will discuss support for Ukraine, immigration, and economic issues on the 7th (local time), a day after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s election was confirmed.
According to the European Union (EU), the 5th European Political Community (EPC) Summit will be held this morning in Budapest, Hungary.
The EPC, so-called ‘EU + Alpha (α) Summit’, was launched in October 2022 after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine with the purpose of strengthening communication and cooperation at the pan-European level.
Leaders of 47 countries, including 27 EU member states, were invited to this meeting.
All three EU leadership members, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Summit President Charles Michel, and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Affairs Josep Borrell, will attend. Mark Rutte, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will also attend.
Following the EPC summit, a separate dinner meeting of EU leaders is scheduled for the afternoon of the same day, and an EU unofficial summit meeting is scheduled for the 8th.
The EU is expected to send a message at the meeting that continued support for Ukraine is needed regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election.
A senior EU official also explained in a preliminary briefing that they plan to coordinate a ‘common message’ on the importance of EU-US relations and continued support for Ukraine.
The Associated Press pointed out that President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is included in the invitation list and is likely to attend, is also likely to appeal for additional support from neighboring European countries.
However, signs of division are already being felt as Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, the ‘host’ and rotating chair of the EU in the second half of the year, announced that he would put the brakes on this flow of discussion.
According to an official from the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Orbán attended the 11th Organization of Turkic States (OTS) summit held in Kyrgyzstan the day before and asserted, “A new strategy for Ukraine is needed.”
The reason is that it is unclear whether Europe will be able to continue providing military and financial support to Ukraine without the United States, depending on the results of the US presidential election.
The main agenda of the EU informal summit on the 8th included ‘European competitiveness’.
As President-elect Trump announced during the campaign that he would impose a ‘universal tariff’ of up to 20% on all imported goods, it is expected that the EU’s response to this will be discussed.
In relation to this, Commission Chairman von der Leyen emphasized to President-elect Trump the previous day, “Millions of jobs and billions of euros in trade and investment depend on the dynamism and stability of bilateral economic relations.”
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2024/11/07 05:30 Sent