EPP pushes for change: ‘Need a more confident EU, a shift in mindset’

Brussels – No self-pity is allowed, as it is counterproductive to give in to hysteria. We need “a confident and assertive Europe.” The European People’s Party (EPP) is trying to shake up a European Union that has taken a back seat in the mediation process to bring about peace in Ukraine and that has seen the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, not involving the old continent from the outset. “This moment requires a new urgency mindset,” the EPP said, implying thinking differently than in the past.

The EPP assessed the situation after the Paris Summit in an extraordinary video conference meeting. It wants to stand firm and demonstrate capacity at a time that represents a test for the present and even more so for the future of the EU. That is why the European center-right family sets an agenda to make the EU an active and proactive player to avoid standing idly by.

Among the points in the informal summit statement, the EPP calls on member states to establish a self-standing defense council and a standing defense committee as “now, above all else, undivided focus is needed on reaching speedy and effective decisions.” With the help of the Polish presidency led by Donald Tusk’s government, a popular, “these immediate priorities can be achieved fast.”

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In the new political activism, there is also the need for extraordinary EU and NATO summits, including meetings to take decisive steps to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and defense capabilities and build a European pillar in NATO that can operate autonomously.

In the immediate future, however, it is necessary to have a decisive role in deciding the near-term arrangements. The EPP insists on Europe being present in the peace process since “Ukrainian interests are European interests.” Whatever we start discussing, the principle must be firm that “The negotiations cannot lead to limiting the sovereign right of a country to choose their own security arrangements, including joining EU or NATO, nor can they lead to a renegotiation of the security architecture of Europe,” the EPP said.

Furthermore, Europe must also sit at the table from the outset, not later. “Any post-war order can only be concluded with and not against the will of the EU and its member states, as only Europe can secure a long-term peace order and create an economic future for Ukraine.” The threat Russia poses to Europe is “long-term” and, in any case, permanent even after the war ends.

The EPP, essentially, reaffirms the call of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to build a new European foreign policy, without victimhood or passivity, but with a whole new resolve: geopolitical and political. It also reiterates the importance of reviving the defense industrial sector, stimulating the needed investments, and increasing public spending to 3 percent of the national gross domestic product.