Ukraine and economic recovery at the center of the agenda

First modification: 03/23/2023 – 19:32

The Twenty-seven members of the EU began a two-day summit in the Belgian capital on March 23, in which the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, also participates. The Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, will offer a balance of the war in his country by videoconference.

Before the meeting, the Zelensky government told its Western allies that its army urgently needs large amounts of ammunition to face the Russian invasion.

Earlier this week, the EU foreign ministers, led by the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, responded favorably to the Ukrainian president’s call. This new aid plan for kyiv will consist of sending one million 155-mm howitzers in the next twelve months.

At this two-day Council meeting in Brussels, EU heads of state are expected to back the plan.

To carry it out, 2,000 million dollars will be assigned. They will come from the European Fund for Peace, an instrument outside the EU budget, which has been used since the start of the war ordered by Russia to supply weapons to the attacked country. The European Fund for Peace has already provided billions of euros in military aid to kyiv.

The first half of this sum will be used to partially reimburse Member States that have used their ammunition reserves to supply Ukraine, and the second half will be used for joint arms purchases, which is an important step for the twenty-seven nations. in his European defense project.

Finally, the third part of the plan will be dedicated to increasing the production capacity of the EU arms industries, in order to replenish their ammunition reserves.

Ukraine is consuming its ammunition at a much faster rate than its allies are producing, prompting the bloc to look for ways to increase ammunition production. All this despite the fact that kyiv’s defenses are forced to use five times less shells than those used by Moscow’s troops, which fire around 20,000 every day.

“We reaffirm, as always, our unwavering commitment to help Ukraine,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council on Thursday.

The UN trusts the leadership of the EU to face the challenges of the Global South

Before the chapter dedicated to the war in Ukraine, the head of the United Nations, António Guterres, began discussions with other world contingencies and stressed that he has the “leadership” of the bloc to face global challenges.

Guterres and the European presidents also discussed geopolitical issues and global challenges.

“We are at a crucial moment. In many developing countries, there is a combination of factors that is leading to a dramatic situation, a ‘perfect storm,'” warned the UN leader.

“Instead of moving forward, we are going backwards (on the Sustainable Development Goals), with more hunger, more poverty, less education and healthcare in many parts of the world. And it is clear that our international financial system is not adapted to meet such a challenge. Guterres said.

“We count on the Union to lead the transformations necessary for us to be able to return to the path” of the sustainable development goals, he added.

Similarly, the EU has a leading role in the fight against climate change, as the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “shows a tragic situation, close to the tipping point that would make unattainable the objective of 1.5°”, said the Secretary General of the United Nations.

“We need decisive action, an acceleration of the agenda. Also in this case we have the leadership of the EU,” he remarked.

During this summit, the leaders of the European Union will also focus on how to improve the competitiveness of their countries, analyze trade agreements and advances in migration policy.

With Reuters and EFE