The heads of state and government of the European Union They have sent this Thursday a Strong support signal to Ukraine by supporting in conclusions, without the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbánsome negotiations in Ukraine that follow the criteria of the Ukrainian President, Volodimir Zelenskiand take a Paz “Justa” and “Durable” In the conflict with Russia.
The text agreed by the other 26 EU leaders, Without orbánat the extraordinary summit in Brussels fixed that The EU defends the presence of Ukraine in any negotiation on the resolution of the conflictand points out that there can not be negotiations that affect European security without the participation of Europe.
The formula chosen by the leaders to present a position with the force of the block despite the uncheck of the Hungarian Prime Minister has been attached to the conclusions of the European Council on the reinforcement of the European defense a text on Ukraine “firmly supported by 26 member states”, European sources have explained.
In their conclusions on the matter of defense, the heads of state and government of the EU have approved the ‘roadmap’ of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenfor immediately accelerate defense spending which includes as a star measure a proposal for a new instrument to provide member states loans backed by the community budget of up to 150,000 million eurosalthough it puts the weight on the national budget with initiatives such as Activate the exhaust clause coordinated so that the investment in defense does not compute in the deficit.
The Community Plan also includes flexible cohesion items to redirect funds to military spending and asks the European Investment Bank (BEI) to continue adapting its rules to finance military projects.
Also, EU leaders identify for the first time A list of “priority areas” To reinforce their capabilities, so that this list serves as a guide for immediate investments in defense, in coherence with NATO and taking into account the “lessons learned in Ukraine.”
At the top of the European list is the anti -aircraft defensethe Artillery systemsincluding deep precision attack capabilities, missiles and ammunition and Drones and anti -products systems. The EU also includes among its priorities to invest in ‘strategic enablersin military mobility, in raise critical infrastructure protectionthe CIBER threats and artificial intelligenceas well as the electronic war.
Threats from the southern flank
The summit’s conclusions text underlines the need for Protect the borders of the EU terrestrial, maritime and aerial and emphasize eastern flank, although at the request of Spain and Italyalso includes a mention of threats from South flank.
This Thursday, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchezhas recognized that the EU has to assume “greater strength” in security matters And defense after “having delegated those responsibilities” and has pointed out that the threats do not only come from the east flank, but also from the south.
Sánchez has defended that the EU assumes that the concept of security “is 360 degrees” and is not limited to looking at the Russian threat in Eastern Europe. “Also the countries of the South have important challenges in regards to the security and protection of our fellow citizens and also of the EU team”he explained.
