Gauthier Delomez
modified to
11:45 a.m., February 28, 2022
Faced with the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine since Thursday, the European Union announced an unprecedented delivery of weapons to Ukrainian forces by releasing an envelope of 500 million euros. This reflects the “revolution of European power which took place in the face of the pressure of events”, according to Clément Beaune, the Secretary of State for European Affairs. In the show Europe Morning On Monday, Emmanuel Macron’s special adviser explained, at the microphone of Sonia Mabrouk, that from now on, “Europe understands that it must be a stakeholder in (international) security.”
“Crises are what move Europe forward”
And Clément Beaune to continue, on the need to strengthen the power of the European Union: “We cannot live in gentrified democracies where we consider that our comfort, our collective prosperity, are assured for eternity.” For the Secretary of State, “unfortunately it is the crises that move Europe forward”, drawing a parallel with the health crisis. Clément Beaune, who has spoken of a denial of European power in the past, welcomed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s announcement to double the arms budget.
Defend democracy in Europe
This EU support for Ukraine is “very clear, unprecedented support for a power that is under attack”, added the Secretary of State to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. However, this does not mean that the EU is at war directly with Russia. “We do not have an operation ourselves. It is the Ukrainians who are fighting, we are helping them to defend themselves because they are attacked and it is our security that is at stake (…). We we are not belligerent,” said Clément Beaune.
“We realized that our security required that Europe was not just a friendly economic market, but that it had to become a political, security union, and that democracy had a price”, continued the Secretary of State. , who assured: “France had understood it perhaps for a little longer that it required to invest and defend those who were threatened.”