Ukraine’s president has been greeted as a hero in Brussels, but no EU member state has made a firm commitment to provide him with everything he asks for.
Correspondent in Brussels,
“I just can’t go home with no result “. Volodymyr Zelensky wanted his trip to Brussels and his participation, Thursday, February 9, at the summit of the Twenty-Seven to lead to tangible progress in EU support for his country, particularly in the military field. He calls for faster deliveries of weapons and fighter planes. In the remarks he made during his press conference, optimism was in order. Saluting the “unwavering support of the Europeans, he thus assured that he had obtained satisfaction on the difficult question of the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine during the discussions he had had the day before in Paris with Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“There are certain agreements which are not public, but which are positive. I do not want to alert the Russian Federation, which constantly threatens us with new attacks “, he indicated, not without pointing the “results won in London on Wednesday, in particular the training of Ukrainian pilots in the handling of combat aircraft. Asked again about the promises of the leaders, the Ukrainian president still wanted to be positive. “I have heard from a number of European leaders that they are ready to provide us with the necessary weapons and support, including planes“, he underlined.
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A difficult step to take
However, at the time of his departure, nothing seemed certain for the hero of the day, who had been acclaimed by the MEPs gathered in an extraordinary plenary session in the morning, then applauded fervently by all the Heads of State and Government – except by the Hungarian Viktor Orban -, photographed at will by journalists from the European press and received at the start of the evening by King Philippe. No Member State has confirmed that it has given the green light to combat aircraft. In addition, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, who had been very definitive on the subject, had been forced to backpedal. ” The issue of long-range weapons and fighter jets for Ukraine has been resolved “, he said in a message posted on social networks. Before correcting the situation in a second message: “ The question of long-range weapons and fighter jets for Ukraine could be solved “.
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The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, wants to believe that the Twenty-Seven will go ahead. He urged them to react quickly. ” The next few weeks and months will probably be decisive. It’s time not to tremble“, he warned.
As had been and still seems to be the case for tanks, the delivery of combat aircraft is a difficult step for a large part of Europeans. They are worried about the risk of escalation with Russia, point to the training time needed for Ukrainian pilots to be able to take control of such devices, or even all the equipment to be provided with this type of gear. Above all, US President Joe Biden opposes, at this stage, supplying combat aircraft to Ukraine.
In no case can the fighter planes be delivered in the coming weeks. »
Emmanuel Macron
At the end of the summit, Emmanuel Macron promised to “intensify» the deliveries of «artillery elements allowing to launch ground offensives or to resist” and of “work in the next few days“. But he made no commitment on fighter planes: “I exclude absolutely nothing. However, the very in-depth and very precise discussion that we had yesterday with President Zelensky highlighted that the priority must be to do everything to help resist in the coming weeks and to carry out useful operations in the weeks and months that are coming. In this regard, it is essential that allies favor the most useful and fastest materials. In no case can the fighter planes be delivered in the coming weeks because there are training and delivery delays “, he said, repeating that the combat aircraft“didn’t meet the needs at all”Ukraine’s current .
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Other leaders, whose country is a neighbor of Russia, are very open to this possibility. Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Kariņs thus affirmed that his country would deliver” gladly “ fighter planes… if he had any. The Pole Mateusz Morawiecki, also in favor of deliveries, said that he would only act within the framework of decisions taken by NATO. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said toldPolitico that she did not exclude this hypothesis. In the end, a few vague promises and not the slightest formal commitment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a speech at the start of a summit at the European Parliament in Brussels, February 9, 2023. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
During his trip, the Ukrainian President also pleaded for a rapid start of the accession negotiations, when the Commission will submit its report next October. Entry into the EU is considered by kyiv as a guarantee of security, a kind of protection while the doors of NATO will remain closed. As he did last week at the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Zelensky reiterated that he was aiming for 2023.Of course we need it this year, Charles. And when I say this year, I mean this year, 2023 “, he insisted, turning to the President of the European Council, and triggering the laughter of journalists.
We are Europeans. The Ukrainian way of life and the European way of life are in danger. »
Volodymyr Zelensky
But, on this subject too, the hopes of going quickly are slim. The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also recalled the rules. They can be summed up in one word:Deserves that in other words, Ukraine’s ability to move forward on the seven chapters that would bring it up to EU level. As for Charles Michel, he reminded his host that the unanimity of the Twenty-Seven was required. Moreover, the Twenty-Seven had some difficulty in agreeing on the wording of this part of the conclusions, some leaders pleading to send a positive message to Ukraine, others showing themselves to be more measured.
The Europeans have, however, taken advantage of the visit of the Ukrainian president – the first since the country is at war – to reaffirm their support which will last “as long as it takes“.
According to an EU official, this summit meeting would have been very useful: “It’s not the same to speak with him in video or by phone than to have him in the room “. Regarding the tenth package of sanctions that the European Commission is currently preparing, the Ukrainian president thus returned at length to the need to target the Russian company Rosatom. “Russia has created the risk of a radioactive disastere (with the Zaporizhia power plant).Despite this, the Russian nuclear energy sector is still not sanctioned. Do you think it’s okay?“, he questioned.
While it is still too early to measure the results of his whirlwind visit to Europe, Zelensky will in any case have made a date with the Europeans, as the first anniversary of the Russian invasion at the start of the war approaches and an offensive large-scale Russian would be preparing. During the speech delivered to the European Parliament,largest democratic parliament in the worldhe extolled the values of the EU and Ukraine, then warned the leaders as well as the citizens of Europe. “We are Europeans. The Ukrainian way of life and the European way of life are in danger. Why are we trying to annihilate them with a totalitarian war? Because once Ukraine falls, your way of life will fall. Yours, that of the Twenty-Seven States of the European Union“.
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