By AARON REICH AND REUTERS
© (photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)
A European Union flag flies outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2019.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky officially applied on Monday to join the European Union, with the application being on its way to Brussels for processing, Ukrainian President's Office deputy head Andrij Sybiha wrote on Facebook.
In response, the heads of state for eight different EU member states – Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic – pushed for vastly expediting Ukraine's admission into the bloc.
"We call on EU member states to consolidate highest political support to Ukraine and enable the EU institutions to conduct steps to immediately grant Ukraine an EU candidate country status and open the process of negotiations," the leaders wrote, as noted on the official website of the Lithuanian president.
This follows Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger telling Politico that Ukraine should have a "special track" towards EU membership.
“They fight for themselves, they fight for us — they fight for freedom,” Heger said told Politico. “We have to realize that they are protecting our system, our values and we have to be together with them. So there is no time to hesitate on this.”
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky officially applied on Monday to join the European Union, with the application being on its way to Brussels for processing, Ukrainian President's Office deputy head Andrij Sybiha wrote on Facebook.
In response, the heads of state for eight different EU member states – Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic – pushed for vastly expediting Ukraine's admission into the bloc.
"We call on EU member states to consolidate highest political support to Ukraine and enable the EU institutions to conduct steps to immediately grant Ukraine an EU candidate country status and open the process of negotiations," the leaders wrote, as noted on the official website of the Lithuanian president.
This follows Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger telling Politico that Ukraine should have a "special track" towards EU membership.
“They fight for themselves, they fight for us — they fight for freedom,” Heger said told Politico. “We have to realize that they are protecting our system, our values and we have to be together with them. So there is no time to hesitate on this.”
© Provided by The Jerusalem Post Josep Borrell speaks at a news conference on the Russian military operation against Ukraine, at EU headquarters in Brussels on Sunday (credit: STEPHANIE LECOCQ/REUTERS)
Overall, support for Ukraine is strong in the EU, as noted in a recent op-ed in The Jerusalem Post by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
"This is a matter of life and death," Borrell noted. "I am preparing an emergency package to support the Ukrainian armed forces in their fight."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leye told Euronews Sunday that Ukraine is "one of us and we want them in the European Union."
Several European nations have already sent considerable funds and munitions towards Ukraine, as well as levying sanctions against Moscow, as have their allies abroad such as the US.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday morning that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had offered his country, which is under attack from its neighbor Russia, more support in the form of sanctions and weapons.
"In our call, Secretary Blinken affirmed that the US support for Ukraine remains unfaltering," Kuleba said on Twitter. "I underscored that Ukraine craves for peace, but as long as we are under Russia's assault we need more sanctions and weapons. Secretary assured me of both. We coordinated further steps."
Power grid
Another way the EU is helping Ukraine is through energy.
On Monday, energy ministers from EU countries agreed to urgently link a European power system to Ukraine's grid, a move that would increase its independence from Russia following Moscow's invasion of the country.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Europe's top gas supplier, has sharpened concerns of disruption to energy supplies and increased scrutiny of European Union countries' reliance on imported fossil fuels.
It has also raised concerns about Ukraine's own energy system, and EU ministers on Monday backed a long-planned link of Ukraine's electricity grid with Europe's.
"There was a broad agreement around the table. Based on this, we will move forward... to connect Ukraine's electricity system as quickly as possible," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said after the meeting.
Ukraine disconnected its grid from a Russian system last week and has asked for emergency synchronization with a European system. That would mean Russia would no longer control technical aspects of Ukraine’s network such as grid frequency. EU officials said the link could be completed within weeks.
This is a developing story.
Overall, support for Ukraine is strong in the EU, as noted in a recent op-ed in The Jerusalem Post by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
"This is a matter of life and death," Borrell noted. "I am preparing an emergency package to support the Ukrainian armed forces in their fight."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leye told Euronews Sunday that Ukraine is "one of us and we want them in the European Union."
Several European nations have already sent considerable funds and munitions towards Ukraine, as well as levying sanctions against Moscow, as have their allies abroad such as the US.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday morning that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had offered his country, which is under attack from its neighbor Russia, more support in the form of sanctions and weapons.
"In our call, Secretary Blinken affirmed that the US support for Ukraine remains unfaltering," Kuleba said on Twitter. "I underscored that Ukraine craves for peace, but as long as we are under Russia's assault we need more sanctions and weapons. Secretary assured me of both. We coordinated further steps."
Power grid
Another way the EU is helping Ukraine is through energy.
On Monday, energy ministers from EU countries agreed to urgently link a European power system to Ukraine's grid, a move that would increase its independence from Russia following Moscow's invasion of the country.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Europe's top gas supplier, has sharpened concerns of disruption to energy supplies and increased scrutiny of European Union countries' reliance on imported fossil fuels.
It has also raised concerns about Ukraine's own energy system, and EU ministers on Monday backed a long-planned link of Ukraine's electricity grid with Europe's.
"There was a broad agreement around the table. Based on this, we will move forward... to connect Ukraine's electricity system as quickly as possible," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said after the meeting.
Ukraine disconnected its grid from a Russian system last week and has asked for emergency synchronization with a European system. That would mean Russia would no longer control technical aspects of Ukraine’s network such as grid frequency. EU officials said the link could be completed within weeks.
This is a developing story.
'A new Europe' united against Russia — even neutral Switzerland
Alex Seitz-Wald
WASHINGTON — A continent that has spent most of the past millennium at war with itself has united against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Germany reversing its historic policy against sending weapons to conflict zones and even famously neutral Switzerland joining the rest of Europe against Moscow
Alex Seitz-Wald
WASHINGTON — A continent that has spent most of the past millennium at war with itself has united against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Germany reversing its historic policy against sending weapons to conflict zones and even famously neutral Switzerland joining the rest of Europe against Moscow
.
Provided by NBC News
“It’s the rebirth of a new Europe,” said Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia. “I’m absolutely shocked, I want to tell you honestly. It’s a historic shift. I think this will have major consequences moving forward for the future of Europe, for the future of the transatlantic alliance, for the future of NATO — just when all of those things were fraying.”
The European Union, for the first time ever, agreed Sunday to directly finance the purchase and delivery of arms, with plans to send more than half a billion dollars worth of military aid to Ukraine as it battles Russian forces in what the president of the European Commission called a “watershed moment.”
Virtually all of European airspace is now closed to Russian aircraft, including private jets. The E.U. also banned Kremlin-backed media outlets and took steps to freeze Russian assets and cut off the country’s access to the global financial system.
French Ambassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne said on MSNBC Monday that the united front was nothing less than “a turning point in the history of our continent.”
Sweden, which is not part of NATO and has maintained a policy of neutrality through both World Wars and the Cold War, announced Monday it will send 5,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.
The Swedish government said it is the first time the Scandinavian country has sent arms to a country at war since 1939, when it aided its neighbor Finland against a Soviet invasion.
Even Switzerland joined the fray.
Neutrality has been a survival tactic for Switzerland that kept the alpine nation independent since Napoleon. It is not part of the European Union nor NATO.
But bowing to public pressure from its citizens and every party in its parliament but the far-right, the Swiss government announced Monday it will join the EU’s sanction against Russia, bar entry to some high-level Russians with Swiss connections and close Swiss airspace to Russian flights.
The move is significant not only symbolically, but because Switzerland’s infamously secretive banks are a favorite of Russian oligarchs.
“We are in an extraordinary situation where extraordinary measures could be decided,” Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said at a press conference Monday, though he noted that Swiss neutrality remains intact since the country is not sending military aid or getting involved in the fight itself.
Experts say the most significant action, though, may be Germany’s.
The most powerful country in continental Europe has for years pursued friendlier relations with Moscow and refused to sell weapons to countries involved in armed conflicts as part of a post-World War II doctrine of pacifism.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement. “It threatens our entire post-war order. In this situation, it is our duty to do our utmost to support Ukraine in defending itself against Vladimir Putin’s invading army.”
Thanks to economic necessity and a sense of historic obligation to atone for the crimes committed by the Nazis, Berlin sought engagement instead of confrontation with Russia.
“There’s an exaggerated perception in German public opinion, I would say a misperception, that engaging with Russia during the Cold War led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Germany did more business with the USSR than other European countries,” said Charles Lichfield, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. “That has informed German behavior.”
As recently as last week, Germany not only refused to send its weapons to Ukraine, but it blocked other countries like the Netherlands from sending their own German-made weapons to Kyiv.
But Berlin dramatically reversed course over the weekend, announcing plans to send at least 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine, paving the way for virtually the entire continent to join the fight.
“There was a drive towards unity and Germany was an obstacle,” said Lichfield. “It is striking that once the German obstacle was lifted, the EU got in.”
Tobias Vestner, head of the security and law program at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, said the Swiss have long prided themselves on being a safe space for international organizations and dialog, like the summit it hosted last year between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But Swiss citizens are beginning to rethink their role in an increasingly globalized world, Vestner said, especially after a pandemic that did not respect international borders.
“This is something we’ve never seen before,” he said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a change in the way neutrality is interpreted and applied.”
“It’s the rebirth of a new Europe,” said Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia. “I’m absolutely shocked, I want to tell you honestly. It’s a historic shift. I think this will have major consequences moving forward for the future of Europe, for the future of the transatlantic alliance, for the future of NATO — just when all of those things were fraying.”
The European Union, for the first time ever, agreed Sunday to directly finance the purchase and delivery of arms, with plans to send more than half a billion dollars worth of military aid to Ukraine as it battles Russian forces in what the president of the European Commission called a “watershed moment.”
Virtually all of European airspace is now closed to Russian aircraft, including private jets. The E.U. also banned Kremlin-backed media outlets and took steps to freeze Russian assets and cut off the country’s access to the global financial system.
French Ambassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne said on MSNBC Monday that the united front was nothing less than “a turning point in the history of our continent.”
Sweden, which is not part of NATO and has maintained a policy of neutrality through both World Wars and the Cold War, announced Monday it will send 5,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.
The Swedish government said it is the first time the Scandinavian country has sent arms to a country at war since 1939, when it aided its neighbor Finland against a Soviet invasion.
Even Switzerland joined the fray.
Neutrality has been a survival tactic for Switzerland that kept the alpine nation independent since Napoleon. It is not part of the European Union nor NATO.
But bowing to public pressure from its citizens and every party in its parliament but the far-right, the Swiss government announced Monday it will join the EU’s sanction against Russia, bar entry to some high-level Russians with Swiss connections and close Swiss airspace to Russian flights.
The move is significant not only symbolically, but because Switzerland’s infamously secretive banks are a favorite of Russian oligarchs.
“We are in an extraordinary situation where extraordinary measures could be decided,” Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said at a press conference Monday, though he noted that Swiss neutrality remains intact since the country is not sending military aid or getting involved in the fight itself.
Experts say the most significant action, though, may be Germany’s.
The most powerful country in continental Europe has for years pursued friendlier relations with Moscow and refused to sell weapons to countries involved in armed conflicts as part of a post-World War II doctrine of pacifism.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement. “It threatens our entire post-war order. In this situation, it is our duty to do our utmost to support Ukraine in defending itself against Vladimir Putin’s invading army.”
Thanks to economic necessity and a sense of historic obligation to atone for the crimes committed by the Nazis, Berlin sought engagement instead of confrontation with Russia.
“There’s an exaggerated perception in German public opinion, I would say a misperception, that engaging with Russia during the Cold War led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Germany did more business with the USSR than other European countries,” said Charles Lichfield, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. “That has informed German behavior.”
As recently as last week, Germany not only refused to send its weapons to Ukraine, but it blocked other countries like the Netherlands from sending their own German-made weapons to Kyiv.
But Berlin dramatically reversed course over the weekend, announcing plans to send at least 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine, paving the way for virtually the entire continent to join the fight.
“There was a drive towards unity and Germany was an obstacle,” said Lichfield. “It is striking that once the German obstacle was lifted, the EU got in.”
Tobias Vestner, head of the security and law program at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, said the Swiss have long prided themselves on being a safe space for international organizations and dialog, like the summit it hosted last year between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But Swiss citizens are beginning to rethink their role in an increasingly globalized world, Vestner said, especially after a pandemic that did not respect international borders.
“This is something we’ve never seen before,” he said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a change in the way neutrality is interpreted and applied.”
No comments:
Post a Comment