Crisis in Ukraine on the focus of the EU Summit

Article published in Cafebabel

Meeting at the European Council. European Council © Flickr

For the first time chaired by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, the European Summit took place in Brussels, on the 18th of December. Ukraine and the investment plan were some of the topics approached by the European leaders. 

A few days before Christmas, European leaders discussed the problems of the Union and ways of tackling it. Rather than decisions made, the meeting started a new cycle in European politics. As expected, EU leaders discussed topics such as the €315 billion package proposed by Juncker and the situation in Ukraine. European leaders have different opinions and views in how the EU should deal with Russia, however, all the Union is cohesive against Putin’s intervention in neighbor’s territory. No more sanctions against Russia were decided under the EU Summit. 

“This is a good chance to brief the council. We need to support the reform agenda. It is time for the EU to make Ukraine a success. This requires work in Europe and Ukraine. We need to develop a sound strategy with Russia, like Donald Tusk said. We start tonight and I am ready to follow this up with the foreign ministers in January,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini during the Summit. 

The situation in Ukraine is clearly a sensitive topic on the European agenda. However, more than outlining possible ways on how the EU should toughen up the sanctions against Russia, EU leaders and diplomats appeared to be willingness to follow the diplomatic way of solving this difficult situation, urging Russia to the benefits of ending the occupation in Crimea. “We should keep those sanctions in place until Russia changes its behavior and stops the aggression in Ukraine,” said British Prime Minister David Cameron. UK’s leader went further saying “the door is always open to Russia if it changes its behavior,” he added. 

The new President of the Council, Donald Tusk, said that Russia is now a “strategic problem” for Europe and not Ukraine. Tusk stated that the biggest challenge for Europe now is Russia’s approximation not only to Ukraine but also to the EU. 

On the German side, Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that the EU will not step back regarding Russia sanctions unless Putin reconsiders. Likewise Cameron’s statement, Merkel also reminded that the sanctions were imposed for specific reasons and, therefore, they can be lifted as soon as the reasons are no longer there. 

Following the Minsk Protocol, an agreement to halt the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine and signed in September 2014 between the actors in this war, French President François Hollande and Chancellor Merkel want to see developments in the protocol, with the support from Russia. Moreover, Hollande has recognized that the sanctions against Putin are one of the reasons for the sudden economic and monetary crisis which has shaken Russia recently. The French leader believes this is the best way to regulate the problem as Putin is isolated in the international scene. 

The EU has already barred imports from Crimea (unless they show a Ukrainian credential) as well as enacted limitations on individuals and some major companies in the region. One of the steps taken in account by the leaders is precisely whether to impose a total ban on European investment in Crimea. Russia was already banned from importing goods from the EU. As a reaction, Putin’s country is also not importing any goods from the EU. This represents a major threat for many farmers and for the EU in general. 

Tusk’s challenges as new President of the Council

Article published in Cafebabel

Donald Tusk and Herman Van Rompuy, Brussels. Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów © Flickr

Herman Van Rompuy has retired from politics, opening way to former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to continue his European legacy. 

Not everyone was able to fully know former European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, due to his discreet and reserved presence. As of the 1st of December, Polish ex-Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, replaced Mr. Rompuy, ready for the challenges imposed by a recovering Europe. The 67 year old Belgian is leaving politics but his work deserves some consideration. From trying to find solutions to a Europe in crisis, chairing meetings of EU leaders in conflict about bailouts, to decisions about the permanence of Greece in the eurozone, Rompuy managed to leave his functions with better future prospects than when he first assumed the Presidency. 

Tusk's first steps 

But let us focus now on Mr. Tusk and on his first steps as the President of the Council. On his first official statement, Tusk has marked his stance towards Russia urging Putin’s government to withdraw its forces from Ukraine. Moreover, the new leader had also his first phone call with American President, Barack Obama, underlining the meaning he attaches to relations between Europe and the United States, pointing to a clear Western alliance against the East. Naturally, despite the social contest, the TTIP was one of the main topics in discussion between the two leaders, as both sides of the Atlantic are impatient to see the implementation of this trade agreement. 

Nevertheless, Tusk manifested his intention to be more outspoken that his predecessor, a good initiative in order to build the bridge between the maximum exponents of European authority and the European people. It is important to break the concept of a technocrat way of leading and opening doors to a better and stimulated participatory citizenship. 

However, Tusk his also determined in cultivating a political unity able to respond the growing euroscepticism in the European Union, as well as tackling the financial crisis by boosting growth, protecting the European security from potential threats and strengthen European and American ties. Like Rompuy, Tusk will be in charge of EU summits of government’s chiefs of State who normally meet four times a year. The agenda is not easy as the future is uncertain with the crisis in Ukraine as well as with some countries strongly weakened by the economical crisis. 

As a matter of fact, Tusk will have a serious work trying to reorganise Europe and the several disagreements within the Member States. It is not easy task, however, Rompuy appears to have full confidence in the future leader. “I’m confident the European Council is in good hands: Donald Tusk is a man of experience and wisdom, a true European,” said the former President.