Gaza, Bosnia, Ukraine… what to remember from the summit of EU leaders
The leaders of the European Union (EU) countries meeting this Thursday gave the green light to the opening of accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina. They also called for an “
immediate humanitarian pause
” in the Gaza Strip. European leaders also want to support European rearmament against Russia.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, March 21, 2024 during the 27 summit. © Yves Herman / REUTERS
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♦ The 27 call with one voice for an “
immediate humanitarian pause
” in Gaza
The leaders of the 27, meeting at a summit in Brussels, called on Thursday for an “
immediate humanitarian pause
” in
Gaza
, and urged
Israel
not to launch a ground operation in Rafah, in a joint declaration. “
The European Council calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a lasting ceasefire, [calls] for the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid
,” according to this text. In this declaration on the situation in Gaza, the first adopted by the 27 since the end of October, European leaders also urge Israel "
not to carry out a ground operation in Rafah
", in the south of the Strip. Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans are refugees.
Very divided since the unprecedented attack launched by Palestinian Hamas against Israel on October 7, the 27 had failed during two previous summits, in December and February, to agree on the terms of a declaration common. The text adopted Thursday by the 27 follows the decision of the United States, also announced Thursday, to submit to the vote of the UN Security Council
a draft resolution
emphasizing the need for a “
ceasefire immediate
".
The Europeans also say they are “
deeply concerned
” by the “
catastrophic
” humanitarian situation in Gaza and “
its effects on civilians, particularly children, as well as by the risk of famine caused by the insufficient arrival of aid
”. They demand “
rapid, full, safe and unhindered access
” for humanitarian aid, much of which is blocked at the gates of Palestinian territory.
Also readWar in Gaza: which countries continue to sell weapons to Israel?
♦ Use for Ukraine of profits from Russian assets frozen in the EU
The Twenty-Seven also decided to move forward with a plan to use profits from Russia's frozen assets in the EU to arm Ukraine. The leaders of EU member countries said they wanted to “
move forward work
” on a proposal presented Wednesday by the European Commission, which should make it possible to free up between 2.5 and three billion euros per year in favor of Kiev.
The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell proposed on Wednesday
to use the profits from frozen Russian assets
to finance military equipment for Ukraine. “
We are determined to act very quickly so that we can use part of this money to support Ukraine
,” said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, during a press conference on Thursday evening. How to use Russian state assets that were blocked after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine two years ago has been the subject of intense discussion.
These assets represent around 210 billion euros in the European Union, and are almost all in the hands of Euroclear, a financial institution based in Brussels. Most of the windfall generated by the interest earned on these assets should make it possible to facilitate the purchase of arms for Ukraine, from July onwards, if the 27 manage to quickly formalize their project, according to Josep Borrell.
♦ Investment in the defense industry
European leaders have asked the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's financing body, to expand its loans to defense companies to support European rearmament against Russia. The EIB “
is invited to adapt its lending policy to the defense industry
,” wrote the European heads of state and government in a joint declaration.
This bank based in Luxembourg, whose shareholders are the member states of the European Union, provides credits and guarantees to businesses to finance Europe's priority policies. Equipped with the prestigious AAA financial rating, a guarantee of solidity which allows it to borrow cheaply, the EIB on the other hand plays a key role in financing the energy transition.
France in particular has campaigned to extend the EIB's mandate to defense industries. She had written a letter to this effect this week, with thirteen other countries, including Germany and Italy. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, “caused
an increased need for investment in the security and defense sector
,” these countries emphasized.
Also listen to General Jean-Paul Perruche: “The European defense industry is very fragmented”
♦ Accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina
“
Based on the
Commission's recommendation of 12 March 2024
, the European Council decides to open accession negotiations with
Bosnia and Herzegovina
,” reads the joint statement adopted by the leaders. The latter invite “
the Commission to prepare the negotiation framework with a view to its adoption by the Council (of the EU) when all the appropriate measures set out in the Commission recommendation of October 12, 2022 have been taken
”. Discussions can only begin after all member state governments have agreed to this negotiating framework.
"
Congratulations
! Your place is in our European family. Today's decision is a key step in your journey to the EU. Now the difficult work must continue
,” declared the President of the European Council Charles Michel on the X network. This decision of the Twenty-Seven, meeting at a summit in Brussels, is the latest in a movement towards the enlargement of the EU which has gained strength since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country of 3.5 million inhabitants, obtained candidate status in 2022 after the favorable opinion of the Commission, which had determined 14 “
essential priorities
” for reforms. These consist in particular of improving the functioning of central institutions, strengthening the rule of law and fundamental rights, the fight against corruption and organized crime in this country, one of the poorest in Europe.
Bosnia recently opened negotiations for a cooperation agreement with the European border guard agency Frontex, its Parliament adopted an anti-money laundering law demanded by Brussels as well as a law on conflict prevention interests in institutions. But there is still no agreement on the reform of the courts and on the electoral law.
The country remains very divided after the intercommunity conflict which devastated this former Yugoslav Republic and left more than 100,000 dead. Nearly thirty years after the Dayton Accords which ended this conflict in 1995, the country is divided into two: a Serbian entity,
the Republika Srpska
(RS), regularly accused of playing into the hands of Moscow in the region, and another Croat-Bosnian, whose leaders want the country to join NATO.
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