Correspondence by Dan Alexe // EU-Ukraine Summit: "European awakening" and the war path is avoided for now
Emmanuel Macron referred to the outcomes of the EU summit held on Thursday, March 6, in Brussels as a “European awakening.” As agreed upon earlier, the European leaders present decided to continue their military aid to Ukraine, although this decision was made without the explicit support of Viktor Orbán's Hungary. Of the 27 EU member states, 26 signed the final statement, committing to maintaining military assistance for Ukraine, even following the U.S. withdrawal announced by Donald Trump.
The final conclusions from Thursday's summit in Brussels state that achieving "peace through strength" requires Ukraine to be positioned as strongly as possible, with robust military and defense capabilities being essential. The joint statement emphasized that the European Union remains committed, in coordination with like-minded partners and allies, to providing increased political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people.
The "like-minded allies" referred to in the document primarily include the United Kingdom, Canada, and Turkey.
For Russia, Europe has now become the enemy, not the United States. This marks a significant shift in alliances, as the U.S. has severed the transatlantic link and effectively abandoned Ukraine to its fate in an effort to end what it considers a secondary conflict.
As a result, Moscow's threatening statements are becoming increasingly radical. During the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government, the European Union sought to initiate a general mobilization to quickly enhance its credible defense while increasing aid to Kyiv in response to the American withdrawal.
The leaders also discussed a plan announced by Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, which aims to unlock up to 800 billion euros in additional defense spending over the coming years.
"Europe faces a clear and immediate danger and must be able to protect and defend itself, just as we must provide Ukraine with the means to protect itself and strive for a just and lasting peace," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Her plan includes the proposal for the EU to first borrow 150 billion euros, which would be allocated to EU governments to finance pan-European military equipment, including air and missile defense systems, artillery, missiles, ammunition, drones, and other military needs.
The European Commission is now set to relax EU spending rules to enable governments to strengthen their armed forces.
The outcome of Thursday’s summit, documented in a final statement signed by 26 EU member states (excluding Hungary), places Emmanuel Macron’s France in a leading position within Europe. France stands as the EU's sole nuclear power and is notably active in imposing further sanctions on Russia, as well as being willing to send ground troops to Ukraine.
