A war summit . This is what faces the 27 EU leaders who are meeting today in Brussels for the March European Council , traditionally dedicated to economic issues but which will instead revolve around security and defence.
The heads of the blue-starred institutions - Commission, Council, High Representative - are trying to convey a sense of urgency to the Member States and the draft conclusions seem to incorporate the need to increase the pace. On military support for Kiev but not only .
The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has commissioned the former President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, to draw up a report on how to improve the EU's defense preparedness and readiness for intervention .
«It is clear that there is no more room for illusions, the world has become more dangerous and the EU must wake up – his words –: we know that Putin's ambitions do not stop at Ukraine». The deadline for compiling the report has been set for next autumn, with a passage of the conclusions that underlines the "imperative" need for a "strengthened military-civilian preparation" given the context of "the evolution of the threat landscape", all to arrive at "strategic crisis management".
“ If we want peace, we must prepare for war ,” warned the President of the European Council Charles Michel on the eve of the summit. In short, citizens must be involved because the pitfalls, especially from a hybrid point of view, can grow suddenly. And Finland is famous for its model of active citizen participation in security .
Meanwhile, a violent Russian attack hit Kiev during the night with more than 30 missiles , including a hypersonic one, shot down by the defense. «Russian terrorists do not have missiles capable of bypassing the defense of the Patriots and other important world systems. Now this protection is needed here in Ukraine. From Kiev to Kharkiv, from Sumy to Kherson, from Odessa to the Donetsk region. This is entirely possible if the partners have sufficient political will", were the words of Zelensky this morning, who reiterated the need for the support of all partners.
The Middle East dossier will also be on the agenda of today's summit. The objective is to arrive at a joint declaration, the second since the beginning of the war. However, the terms of a ceasefire and the disbursement or otherwise of funds to UNRWA remain points on which an agreement is far away.
(Unioneonline/vl)
