(B2) Meeting in Brussels in an extraordinary European Council on Thursday (February 24), the 27 leaders all wanted to speak out on the war in Ukraine to condemn Russia. They also listened to their Ukrainian counterpart. Without really promising him what he expected.
(Photo: Council of the EU)
The meeting lasted six hours. Each of the 27 wanted to express themselves on the subject. Without electronic devices and telephones. Classic security measure when talking about Russia. Logic " Everyone cares “says a diplomat.
The Europeans had an exceptional guest: the President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, in a video link from kyiv, in a faded khaki T-shirt. Tired, worn out by days and nights of high tension, his tone surpassed by a notch all the leaders gathered, in suits and ties which seemed so derisory, alongside their Ukrainian counterpart, struggling with one of the strongest armies in the world. .
The last time you see me alive
An intervention "strong and overwhelming according to the meeting participants. " This may be the last time you see me alive said the Ukrainian leader. One moment " really dramatic " who has " touched all participants », according to the head of the Italian government Mario Draghi (1). " He's hiding somewhere in kyiv.He said he was out of time, that Ukraine was out of time, that he and his family were being targeted by the invading Russian forces ».
Ukraine alone
An interview from which he emerges very bitter. " My country (is) alone to defend itself.Who will fight alongside us now? To be honest, I don't see anyone as he remarks in a video posted on his Telegram channel. Europeans answer that they are with us. But they ain't ready to take us to the Alliance ". " I asked the 27 European leaders directly if Ukraine would join NATO”. More "They're all scared", declares the Ukrainian president, quoted by the Ukrainian press agency Unian.
A cowardly and overly timid Europe
And to continue: Europe has enough strength to stop this aggression. What are European states waiting for to go further? Cut Swift. Total isolation from Russia. Recall of ambassadors, oil embargo. Closure of the sky. Today, all of this should be on the table. You can always stop the aggression. We must act without delay... Because it is a threat for all of us, for all of Europe. » (2)
Saddened and helpless leaders
To this address, the Europeans could only respond with a few words. And economic and individual sanctions, weak in view of the situation.
The emotion of betting
Vladimir Poutine " brings suffering and destruction to its immediate neighbours. It endangers the lives of countless innocent people in Ukraine, the brotherly people of Russia. There is no justification for this "(Olaf Scholz Germany, S&D). " We woke up this morning, on the European continent, to a different world, a world in which the rules-based order is being shaken, is being attacked in an extremely painful way "(Charles Michel, European Council). " Everything predicted happened. We were hoping this wouldn't happen, but it did "(Kaja kallas, Estonia Renew).
The situation is serious
For many Chiefs, it is the memory of the war that haunts their minds. " The situation is very serious, it is probably the worst security situation since the Second World War "(Magdalena Andersson, Sweden, S&D). " What happened today is really serious. It is a structural change and one of the most important economic transformations and which affects the security architecture of Europeans "(Pedro Sanchez, Spain S&D). But the Europeans do not intend to re-engage in a war. " Hungarian soldiers should not take part in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. It is important that Hungary is not dragged into the war "(Viktor Orban, Hungary) (tweet).
The whole world is watching us
To these, the leaders of the East insisted on replying. " Enough rhetoric. Enough naivety. Enough nonsense. We really have to act, very decisively. Civilians are being killed every minute, every hour. We have to be very strong and respond appropriately. The entire free world is watching our reaction and the seriousness with which we take an attack on a sovereign state. "(Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland, ECR). " Tomorrow it may be too late. I think we have to use the full potential of deterrence in this situation "(Nauseda Gypsy, Lithuania, Ind). " We speak while people in Ukraine are dying, and they are dying because of brutal Russian aggression. It is very important that they feel that the price they are paying for this aggression is really significant. It's not something like what happened after the 2010 invasion of Georgia, or after the occupation of Crimea "(Janez Jansa, Slovenia EPP) wearing a blue and yellow tie, in the colors of Ukraine.
The cost of sanctions necessary in the face of seriousness
Very quickly the debate focused on the intensity of the sanctions to be taken. Everyone is convinced that we must take action. " I arrived at the summit convinced that we must adopt the strongest possible sanctions against Russia. "(Edward Heger, Slovakia, EPP). " In such an attack and loss of people, which we are witnessing, there has been no [room] for soft measures. » (Kirill Petkov, Bulgaria, India).
Sanctions for lack of harsher intervention
These measures are heavy, including for Europeans. But " the cost of not reacting to this unprecedented Russian aggression is even higher "(Mark Rutte, Netherlands Renew), according to The Telegraph. " For now, sanctions are the only political pressure we have. This is the problem: when will they be in place, will they really be felt by Russia? It can take days, weeks. But it's the only solution we have at the moment '. (Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg, Renew).
European membership by 2030?
Rather than engaging militarily, to support Ukraine, we must give it " a real European perspective. [...] We strongly support Ukraine's full membership of the European Union by 2030 at the latest "(Janez Jansa, Slovenia). A letter co-signed with his Polish counterpart details this position. Vision shared by the Baltic countries. " We must show that the doors of the European Union do not close. NATO's door does not close "(Kaja Kallas, Estonia, Renew).
A dialogue of the deaf
The Europeans have nevertheless tried diplomacy. " All diplomatic efforts were made by European leaders [...] but it is very clear that Russia intended to carry out a military assault "(Michael Martin Taoiseach Ireland, Renew). But " to be successful in diplomacy, you need another person to talk to. In recent weeks, we have seen that Putin and the Russian regime have declared themselves open to discussion. But in the end, it's clear the script was scripted. They were just looking for excuses to run their script "(Alexander of Croo, Belgium, Renew). The French President Emmanuel Macron (Renew) contacted Vladimir Putin again during the summit. A call " to demand an immediate halt to Russian military operations, recalling that Russia was exposing itself to massive sanctions “, according to the Elysee. An exchange " frank, direct, fast ", but who has " no effect “, by the admission of the French.
(Agnès Faure, at the European Council & Aurélie Pugnet, with Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
In intervention before Italian MPs on Friday (25 February).
According to the report made by the Ukrainian leader himself in a discourse to the nation of Ukraine on Friday (February 25).
