Heads of State and Government of the European Union agreed to start accession negotiations with the EU this Thursday. Ukraine And moldova and forgive Georgia status candidate country“As announced by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on the social network, after the necessary compliance with the accession criteria”.
It didn’t look like the decision would be made first thing on the morning the leaders entered. “There is currently no reason to negotiate Ukraine’s accession,” the Prime Minister said. Hungary, Viktor Orban. This Wednesday, the European Commission announced the inevitable release of $10.2 billion of European funds for Hungary.
“Expansion is not a theoretical problem. It is merit-based and legally detailed (a process) with prerequisites. We have set seven preconditions and even according to the Commission’s assessment, 3 of these 7 preconditions have not been met, so there is no reason to negotiate Ukraine’s accession at the moment,” said the representative of the European leadership, President of the European Council. Charles MichelFrom the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen from France, Emmanuel Macron and Germany, Olaf Scholz.
In addition to this decision, the second element that he has his finger on is 50 billion financial aid package For Ukraine for the period 2024-2027. An amount negotiated as part of a review of the EU’s multi-annual budget framework, which Orbán has advocated being left out of the community budget.
By the end of the week?
Two issues that require the unanimity of the Twenty-Seven (the remaining 26 agree) and will force the rest of European leaders this Thursday and Friday to be convincing and creative in their search for solutions are participation and funding. “I have a feeling it will be very long so we will have to be there all day, most of the night and hopefully we can finish it on Friday.” “Otherwise, it may continue until the end of the week, but it is worth the problems,” said the Head of Government, and continued as follows: Pedro Sánchez. “It will be a difficult meeting. This will buy us time. “Be prepared to be there by Saturday or Sunday,” the Irishman said. Leo Varadkar.
Sánchez, like 25 other European leaders, considers it necessary to send a positive message to Kiev, as well as to Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans. But above all, to Ukraine, which is facing its second winter under the Kremlin’s missiles. “I am ready to negotiate as long as it lasts. I have only one main point: our security and our existence as a reliable union. We need strong decisions,” the Finn defended. Petteri Orpo He warned that “the threat from Russia is real” and that “we cannot accept any kind of blackmail.” He is not the only person to point out the Hungarian politician’s attitudes. “We have had difficult times in recent years with difficult discussions. “It’s really important to maintain this unity and I don’t want to get into some kind of market logic,” he said. Alexander de Croo. Lithuanian Nausea Gypsies He also warned of the consequences of abusing the principle of unanimity and insisted that guaranteeing the $50 billion payment to Ukraine was necessary for the “preservation of the country”.
Zelensky’s call
The first thing the Twenty-Seven did after the regular meeting with European Chamber president Roberta Metsola was to listen via videoconference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reminded them that now was not the time. Instead of “new measures”, “doubts” or “indecisions”, he gave the green light to start accession negotiations with his country. “Nobody wants Europe to be seen as unreliable or incapable of making decisions of its own making,” because the only one who will benefit from this will be Vladimir Putin. “People will not understand that Putin’s satisfied smile is the result of a meeting in Brussels”added.
Despite this call, deep divisions continue for now. The Twenty-Seven started the meeting by discussing the review of the EU budget framework for the period 2021-2027. As a result of the impact of the war and the epidemic in Ukraine, the European Commission proposed an additional payment to the Ukrainian budget. 66 billion between 2024 and 2027 Meeting Ukraine’s needs, migration policy and promoting digital and green priorities and competitiveness.
Within the framework of this proposal, Brussels proposed to allocate 50 billion resources to Ukraine, 33 billion of which are loans and 17 billion are aid. 26 of 27 member states, except Orban, have agreed on a financial aid package for Ukraine, but there are also countries that want to reduce it as much as possible “fresh” money in last bargain bin reduced from 66,000 to 22,500 millionAccording to sources consulted. “There is one important thing. “We must succeed in providing financial relief to Ukraine and create the necessary foundations for it to continue its resistance against Russia’s aggression,” Olaf Scholz warned.