Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, has asserted that politicians ought to have heeded warnings concerning the intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin from their Central and Eastern Europe allies. This was her first public statement following her successful re-election to the influential role within the EU.
Ms von der Leyen censured individuals across the 27 member states who attempted to destabilise Ukraine amidst its conflict with Russia. She remarked that EU nations near Russia had been cautioning the rest of the Union about Putin’s plans for a considerable length of time.
While addressing a security gathering in Prague, she stated those in support of discontinuing military assistance to Ukraine favour “appeasement” over peace. She expressed disappointment at politicians within the Union, and even in Central and Eastern Europe, for their attempts to muddy the dialogue on Ukraine.
Drawing parallels with past historical events, she asked whether anyone would ever blame Hungarians for the Soviet invasion in 1956 or the Czechs for the Soviet brutality in 1968. She categorically stated that the Kremlin’s actions were unlawful and barbaric then, and they remain so.
The German politician described the Russian’s incursion into Ukraine in February 2022 as a wake-up call for Europe. She acknowledged that Europe’s reliance on Russian gas was a powerful tool in Putin’s hand during the onset of the conflict. Despite the economic hardship endured by Russia, Putin was willing to further his expansionist ambitions.
Emphasising the current security situation, she called for an extensive reform of Europe’s defence, recognising that it would take time for nations to expand their defence industries.
Defence and security concerns are anticipated to take centre stage in the field of European politics in the forthcoming years. Ms Von Der Leyen, a part of the latest reshuffling within the top figures of the European Commission, intends to establish a position for an EU defence commissioner. The president is in the process of deciding which roles to assign to the candidate commissioners that each EU country has put forth.
In a separate event, the defence ministers and diplomats of EU nations convened in Brussels on Friday. They discussed potential methods to back Ukraine in its ongoing war.
Kyiv’s most significant hurdle, according to a senior diplomat, is allies’ hesitation to endorse fresh supporting tactics. During the meeting, there was a focus on Ukraine’s plea for permission to utilise missiles, provided by western allies, to attack military objectives deep in Russian territory, such as Russian bomber airfields.
Addressing a press briefing following the meeting, Josep Borrell, head of foreign affairs in the EU, conveyed his support for Ukraine’s lifted restrictions to strike military targets in Russia. He downplayed any notion that these actions would equate to a state of war with Russia, defining such claims as overstated.
The assembly agreed that whether Ukraine could launch long-range missiles into Russia would be determined by the nations that supplied the weapons. The initial funds, totalling €1.4 billion, extracted from the surplus earnings of seized Russian assets, have recently been transferred to Ukraine to strengthen its defence sector, Borrell stated.
Furthermore, another significant tranche of EU funding, worth €6.6 billion, is being obstructed due to Hungary initiating a veto to stall the release of the funds. The summit involving defence ministers concluded that it was “imperative” to find a solution to enable the funds to reach Ukraine, according to Mr Borrell.