Daniel Wolfram
The European leaders know that protecting Ukraine this winter from Russian attacks will be paramount for the future of Europe.
The ninth edition of the European Political Community Summit is underway in Dublin today, November 12.
All the top political leaders in Europe are gathered there. The official theme of the summit is: “Europe: strong, secure and connected,” where there will be discussions on securing and defending a democratic Europe and building an even stronger continent.
Naturally, those discussions cannot be had without Ukraine being at the center of them. The German chancellor is aware of that, and he says it is on all of Europe to secure Ukraine’s future.
A need for more funding
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview before the summit began that Ukraine is entering a pivotal winter in the war against Russia and it is essential that Europe be aligned in helping the country.
Merz claims that further support for Ukraine should be seen as “a collective European responsibility,” with the immediate need to “close the funding gap for 2027,” according to The Guardian.
Furthermore, Merz said that it is positive that Russia has shown a “growing willingness on the Russian side to recognize that one cannot talk about Europe without involving Europe. And that, for a start, is good news. Whether it will stay that way remains to be seen.”
Different views on the peace talks in Abu Dhabi
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen echoed those sentiments and said that she “very much welcomed” peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
She then revealed that a new sanctions package on Russia is being finalized. “We are preparing the 22nd sanctions package, and we are, as the commission, preparing a proposal how to cover the financial needs of Ukraine in 2027. We will come with the sanctions package and the proposal for the financial needs before the next European Council.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief and former prime minister of Estonia, had a more dire outlook on the talks in the Middle East.
She warned that Russia has still not shown “any goodwill from the Russian side” during the peace talks and that Russia is still running from its previous agreements.
“There should be [the] right sequenc[e] first to have a ceasefire, so that the bombing of the civilians really [needs to] stop and then sit down and talk over the peace agreement. Then, only then, we can talk about peace, or security architecture of Europe,” Kallas said to reporters outside the summit.
