Jacques Serais 1:56 p.m., March 11, 2022
The Heads of State and Government of the European Union, meeting at a summit in Versailles, are seeking to find solutions to reduce their dependence on Russia.
France is trying to persuade other countries to adopt a new recovery plan, on the model of that implemented for the coronavirus crisis.
EU states united to face the crisis.
As the Russian offensive intensifies in Ukraine, the heads of state and government of the member countries gathered in Versailles.
In particular, they tried to find solutions to reduce their dependence on Russia.
Beyond the stakes of European sovereignty, how can the Union organize itself to deal with the economic shock resulting from this war?
A new joint loan
This is why Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, is alongside the Heads of State and Government.
France is trying to persuade other states to adopt a new recovery plan on the model of the 800 billion euro fund, already implemented during the Covid crisis.
We are therefore talking about a new joint loan to cushion the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
"We need a European strategy to resist in the short term", explained Emmanuel Macron again last night.
But Germany and several northern European countries are rather reluctant to the idea of a new debt pooling.
The other solution would therefore be for the European budgetary rules, which are supposed to limit the debt ratio of the states… to be suspended again…
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Europe's contribution to supply arms to Ukraine
Discussions are still ongoing.
They should end in the early afternoon.
In the meantime, the leaders could agree on another point: funding to supply arms to Ukraine.
The head of European diplomacy Josep Borell proposed this morning to double Europe's contribution, which would then go from 500 million euros to 1 billion euros...