Correspondent in Brussels
President Zelensky is indeed in Brussels on Thursday, February 9, to meet the Twenty-Seven Summit there. This visit, the possibility of which was already published in the media at the beginning of this week, was not officially approved by the European structures. But in London on Wednesday, President Zelensky did not ignore Brussels on this European tour, which comes almost a year before the start of the war and as Russia prepares for a full-scale offensive.
The European Council’s president, Charles Michel, extended the invitation to the Europeans a long time ago. Due to security reasons, until then Zelensky preferred to meet with the heads of EU countries and governments via video conference from Ukraine. “I really want to move, but there are really serious risks with Russia trying to retaliate“, he explained again last week from Kiev, at the end of the 24the The EU-Ukraine summit, when Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen went there.
In Brussels, Ukraine’s president is due to address the European Parliament, where an extraordinary plenary session convened at 10am, before joining the 27 gathered in the Council building for lunch with them. Or vice versa, because the agenda was not finalized at the end of Wednesday. If not changed, the guest of honor should not meet Jens Stoltenberg. Teams in the Atlantic alliance, headquartered in Brussels, argued on Wednesday that the NATO secretary-general was on his way to the United States by Thursday.
surprise visit
This surprise visit somewhat shakes up the summit. The 27 were to devote much of their meeting to migration issues and the EU’s response to Washington’s massive subsidies to its industry by reserving part of their trade to Ukraine, as is done at each summit for a year. About the program, in particular, the frozen assets and the way in which this windfall of several hundred billion dollars can be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. “We would like to move forward on this issue. It’s about how to use assets, invest them, develop them,” shows a senior civil servant, without glossing over the delicate legal issues that arise.
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Other topics on the agenda include sanctions against Russia, while the committee is preparing a tenth package of measures; The issue of responsibility for the atrocities committed by Russian officials in Ukraine and the issue of EU membership. In the draft conclusion, twenty-seven reaffirm their support for Ukraine. They also point to aid provided by the EU and member states to the country since the start of the war, totaling around €68 billion, including support for 4 million Ukrainian refugees in the EU. This is 8 billion euros more than the amount announced last week at the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv. “The President of Ukraine will address the leaders who are the most faithful and have made great efforts since the beginning of the Ukrainian war.“, wants to believe the EU diplomat.
However, Zelensky could not find his account there. Since Wednesday, a Ukrainian official from Brussels has also warned Tsanyoti.My president is driven to deliver“. If Zelensky is in Europe, it is necessary above all.”speed up the supply of arms to his countryand to obtain a promise to start Ukraine’s accession negotiations in 2026.
Fighter
The fighter jets claimed by Kiev should therefore fuel the exchanges. The Ukrainian president can then easily claim that London, which he visited before Brussels, took over on Wednesday to train Ukrainian pilots with this type of equipment, thus paving the way for future deliveries. As for the accession negotiations, they require unanimity, and some member states, notably France and the Netherlands, believe that Ukraine still does not tick all the boxes. “I remember it at Versailles (March 2022, Ed.), They said that candidate status takes time. Three months later, Ukraine received it. So we’ll seemocked a high-ranking EU official. “Charles Michel wanted to bring Zelensky. But no one sees what can be said more than last week in Kievadmits the EU diplomat. Twenty-seven, however, cannot afford to see the president of Ukraine return to his country empty-handed.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.