EU leaders reject idea of military aid to Ukraine
EU leaders do not approve the idea of military aid to Ukraine for 2025 of the bloc's foreign policy chief.
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 defence needs", including air defence, 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 the strengthening of 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 increase 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 150 billion euro loan 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 variety 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 US aid freeze had not yet been reached at the extraordinary EU summit.
On March 2, an informal summit of leaders of several European countries was held in London (UK) to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the collective security of Europe. After that, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that everything possible would be done to create a coalition of those who want to protect the agreement on Ukraine and ensure peace.
