EU renews support for Ukraine. Commitment from 26 member states, excluding Hungary, cornered

Brussels – Fears of a possible missed deal vanished fast, shortly after 8 p.m., when the EU heads of state and government meeting in Brussels for the extraordinary summit dedicated to defense and Ukraine approved the text on aid to Kyiv, isolating and cornering Viktor Orban’s Hungary left alone to play the part of Moscow’s iron ally. Admittedly, passing the conclusions in one go was impossible. However, European Council President Antonio Costa solved the problem by having an annex for the conclusions on defense approved. It was a ploy to move forward and show that Europeans, unlike the Americans, are indeed loyal, credible, and reliable friends.

“Today is an important day for European defense and Ukraine,” Costa stressed, looking at the outcome of the meeting. The unity of 27 is a principle that is being overcome. The leaders chose a new approach, thanks to the large and numerous Popular (EEP) family. A third of all leaders, as many as 10 out of 27, chose to dump the Hungarian premier without even hiding it.

In the end, the statement on Ukraine attached to the conclusions maintains the proclamations, commitments, and positions expressed so far: respect for the country’s territorial integrity according to the “internationally recognized” borders, and thus including Crimea annexed in 2014. A condition that Russia is unlikely to accept in negotiations. The 26 member states then insist on the need to “achieve peace through strength,” which implies “solid military and defense capabilities as an essential component.” With this in mind, European leaders pledge to continue to provide all kinds of support (political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic). 

On the financial front, the EU pledged to provide Kyiv with 30.6 billion euros by 2025, with an explicit request to the Commission to increase the resources of the European Peace Facility. In addition, the EU heads of state and government agree to “urgently intensify” efforts to meet Ukraine’s pressing military and defense needs, “in particular the delivery of air defense systems, ammunition, and missiles, the provision of necessary training and equipment for Ukrainian brigades, and other needs that Ukraine may have.”

In the future, the EU will remain willing to work for those ‘security guarantees’ to be achieved, especially from a post-negotiation and peace perspective. The conclusions state, “the European Union and Member States are ready to further contribute to security guarantees based on their respective competencies and capabilities.” There are no details on the measures as they have to be determined and defined: leaders defer this to the upcoming European Council meetings, starting with the one at the end of the month (March 20 and 21).