European leaders are meeting between this Thursday and Friday in Brussels at the European Council, again marked by the war in Ukraine and increased support for Kyiv from the European Union, with the special presence of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
At the first summit of 27 heads of state and government since the first anniversary of the start of the Russian military offensive on February 24, 2022, European leaders will continue discussions on European Union (EU) support for Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to again intervene in the meeting via videoconference after being physically present at the previous summit on 9 February.
Even though Ukraine once again celebrated its membership in the European Council, as it did last year, there are still many other topics on the agenda of EU leaders, mainly of an economic nature, namely the strategy of the community bloc to increase competitiveness in the long term and deepening the single market, following recent proposals presented by the European Commission and energy and trade policy 27, as well as a “brief” discussion of migration.
The European Council will start this Thursday morning at 11:30 in Brussels (10:30 in Lisbon) with a meeting with António Guterres in the form of a working lunch.
In a letter of invitation addressed to European capitals on Tuesday, European Council President Charles Michel recalled the participation of the United Nations Secretary-General in the June 2021 summit and expressed the hope that, as on that occasion, there would be “a fruitful exchange of views on key geopolitical issues and global challenges”.
Diplomatic sources said that at the meeting, which should last about three hours, António Guterres would like to discuss with 27 people such as the consequences of the war in Ukraine, especially in terms of food security, combating climate change and the international financial architecture and its relationship with development aid.
After lunch, it will be Zelensky who will join EU leaders via videoconference to discuss the state of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and the country’s needs, which is the eighth time since the start of the war.
“We, as always, will reaffirm our unwavering commitment to helping Ukraine. This includes continuing the work on accountability. [dos perpetradores de crimes de guerra]about the use of frozen Russian assets and the mobilization of the world community in support of an international order based on rules, “and increasing collective pressure on Russia,” Charles Michel wrote in a letter addressed to 27.
The President of the European Council stressed that since the February summit, the EU “has been working on an urgent increase in the production and supply of ammunition to Ukraine.”
On Monday, at a joint meeting of EU27 foreign and defense ministers, they approved a €2 billion package for the production and supply of large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine, with the aim of supplying 1 million artillery shells for the Ukrainian army. in the next 12 months.
On the second working day of the meeting, on Friday, an inclusive Eurosummit will take place with the participation of member states outside the single currency area, and which will also be attended by two guests, Eurogroup President Pascal Donoghue and European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde , who are expected to discuss with the leaders of 27 countries the recent “shocks” in the financial system in light of the collapse of the US bank Silicon Valley Bank and the difficulties of Credit Suisse, as well as inflation.
Portugal is represented at the summit by Prime Minister António Costa.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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