EU leaders reject idea of military aid to Ukraine
EU leaders have rejected the bloc's foreign policy chief's idea of providing military aid to Ukraine for 2025.
According to RIA Novosti, according to the written conclusions of the European Union (EU) summit, EU leaders did not approve the initiative of the head of European foreign policy Kaja Kallas on military aid to Ukraine for the period 2025.
European leaders "welcomed" the readiness of EU member states to step up efforts "to meet Ukraine's urgent defense needs," including air defense, ammunition and missiles, as well as training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At the same time, the leaders called on "the EU Council to promptly advance initiatives, in particular the High Representative's initiative, to coordinate increased EU military support to Ukraine".
Other statements adopted at the summit included the continuation of work to ensure security for Ukraine; Brussels intends to continue and intensify sanctions pressure on Russia; plans to mobilize an additional 800 billion euros for defense were agreed; the Council of the European Union was tasked with considering a loan of 150 billion euros to finance the European military-industrial complex; the European Commission must present a strategy for the development of defense in the EU with increased funding for this area.
The EU will develop its military-industrial complex taking into account the lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine, focusing on air and missile defense systems, drones, and high-precision missile systems. Brussels wants to protect the borders of the union for security reasons, justifying this with a number of reasons, including the alleged threats from Russia and Belarus.
In addition, the European Commission, Slovakia and Ukraine have been called on to speed up the search for a solution to the "gas transit problem" due to Bratislava's concerns.
The conclusion of the EU summit on the situation in Ukraine was supported by 26 of the 27 member states, a European source told the media. Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that an agreement on continued support for Kiev amid the end of US aid had not yet been reached at the extraordinary EU summit.
On March 2, an informal summit of several European leaders was held in London to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the collective security of Europe. After that, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that everything possible would be done to create a coalition of those who want to protect the Ukraine agreement and ensure peace.
