The EU on Friday eyed an extra 500 million euros (US$546 million) in military support for Ukraine and fresh sanctions on Russia as Moscow’s war spurred vows to bolster the bloc’s defenses.
EU leaders meeting for a summit in France’s Palace of Versailles described Moscow’s attack on Ukraine as a wake-up call for the 27-nation bloc to take a tougher approach to ensuring its security.
“There’s no denying the fact that two weeks ago we woke up in a different Europe, in a different world,” European Council President Charles Michel said.
Photo: CNA
The EU’s executive put forward a proposal to double its financing for sending weapons to Ukraine to 1 billion euros as the West scrambles to back Kyiv’s forces in the face of the Kremlin’s onslaught.
The bloc last month broke a long-standing taboo by agreeing to pay for arms deliveries to Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of his pro-Western neighbor.
The move was part of a broad push by Ukraine’s allies to send weapons amid desperate pleas from Kyiv for air-defense systems after calls to impose a no-fly zone were rebuffed.
Photo: AP
Alongside further arms supplies, EU leaders also said they were readying a fresh round of economic punishments as they look to keep up pressure on Putin over the bloodshed.
The West has already hit Moscow with a barrage of unprecedented sanctions, but the EU has so far failed to agree to follow the US’ lead in hitting Russia’s key oil and gas exports.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Putin of further “massive sanctions” if he steps up the bombing or seeks to besiege Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
“In that case, nothing is off the table, nothing is taboo,” Macron said.
“We will do whatever we deem to be effective and useful to halt Russia in its aggression,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would ban the export of luxury goods to Russia, striking a “direct blow to the Russian elite.”
As the EU has broken new ground in sending arms abroad, it has also been shocked into reconsidering its approach to security after decades relying on US-led NATO to ensure Europe’s defenses.
Leaders agreed in a declaration “to increase substantially defense expenditures” and bolster cooperation on military projects between member states.
“We must resolutely invest more and better in defense capabilities and innovative technologies,” the declaration said.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the bloc was looking at issues such as whether to “procure common capabilities, for example, that are too expensive for any individual state to buy on their own.”
She also called for all EU members states — six of which are not in NATO — to mirror the military alliance’s commitment to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.
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