EU leaders discuss support for Ukraine pending Trump plans

BRUSSELS Dec. 17 () –

The leaders of the European Union will try this Thursday to protect long-term support for the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, at a time when the European bloc awaits the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House in January, which could precipitate the cutting US aid and ceasefire negotiations.

The last European summit in 2024 in Brussels will be the first led by the new president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and will be attended by Zelensky, for whom European leaders will reaffirm long-term support in a context of complete uncertainty about the decisions that the United States adopts once Trump takes office. On the European side, EU leaders want to shield support for kyiv by showing support for any future steps that Ukraine may take both on the battlefield and if it sits in negotiations with Russia.

“What we have to focus on is everything we have in our power to help Ukraine achieve its objectives,” explains a senior EU official about the debate between European leaders and his Ukrainian counterpart, while different sources insist in that any negotiation must prioritize the participation of Ukrainians and Europeans and follow the parameters set by kyiv for a just and lasting peace.

In Brussels, the mantra is repeated that Ukraine has to enter future peace talks from a position of strength, and in the face of the proposal of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to deploy European forces to guarantee the security of Ukraine and control an eventual ceasefire, the majority of Member States remain cautious and insist that the EU is not yet at that point.

Although the EU’s own High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, rejected this scenario this week, pointing out that “there has to be peace, to be able to send peacekeeping forces” and doubted Russia’s intentions, in community capital indicate that the EU has to support Ukraine in fighting the war and think about creating the necessary conditions for its future.

MEETING ON EVE AT RUTTE’S RESIDENCE

The European summit will be marked by the informal meeting prepared the day before by the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in his own residence with Zelensky and to which Macron, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, are invited. , and the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, which will also be attended by the president of the Council and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as Europa Press has learned.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will not attend the meeting, since it is a format in which Spain does not usually participate, explain government sources. This brings together the European countries of the G7, along with Poland, one of kyiv’s closest partners.

In diplomatic circles in Brussels, they see the debate on the possible deployment of European soldiers as “inevitable” in response to Trump’s goal of quickly achieving peace negotiations in Ukraine, although they assume that there is still a long way to go to know under what conditions they will take place. conversions and the eventual cessation of hostilities.

RELATIONS WITH THE NEW ISLAMIST AUTHORITIES IN SYRIA

Thursday’s meeting will be the first in which the EU heads of state and government can discuss at the highest level the open political transition in Syria after the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime following the dazzling offensive led by jihadist groups. and rebels.

European leaders are expected to insist on the message of caution in the face of the first steps in the transition, led by the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), although they keep their sights set on easing sanctions if the new authorities make good progress. address.

The president of the European Commission herself, Ursula von der Leyen, traveling in Turkey, has indicated that a window of opportunity is opening in Syria to achieve a peaceful transition after the fall of Al Assad, although time has recognized that the situation entails ” risks”.

The EU has already sent the EU chargé d’affaires to Damascus to make initial contacts with the interim government in an attempt to maintain an open line with the new leaders and avoid a power vacuum that promotes instability or conflict. internal. The bloc wants to avoid a new civil war at all costs and has been underlining its demand for a peaceful transition that preserves the territorial integrity of Syria and protects all communities and minorities present in the country.

BALKAN SUMMIT

The meeting of European leaders will be preceded by a meeting with their Balkan counterparts, a meeting in which the EU aims to reaffirm the “strategic” importance of the region for the 27 at a time marked by the war in Ukraine and the influence Russian both in the Union and in that region.

Although the summit is not designed to talk about integration into the EU, all the countries in the region are immersed in community accession, with Montenegro as the most advanced country on the path and Albania that has opened several chapters in just a few months, in a sample of the new direction that the 27 want to take to the Enlargement policy.

On the European side, the event is also sought to serve to accelerate political contact with the Balkans and promote alignment with the bloc on issues such as foreign policy. Specifically, the case of Serbia stands out, which the EU will continue to ask to adopt the sanctions imposed against Moscow for the military invasion of Ukraine, since it is the only country in the region that does not apply them.

European leaders will highlight the rich commercial relationship between the EU and the Balkans, since the bloc represents 70% of trade for the area, in addition to being the main investor and donor.