Ukraine is one of the prominent issues at the EU Leaders’ Summit on 29-30 June. Especially the situation after the rebellion of the mercenary group Wagner against the Russian administration and the financial and military support to be given to Ukraine are among the topics on the leaders’ table.
The European Peace Fund, which is used by the EU for military support to Ukraine, was increased by 3.5 billion euros to 12 billion euros, as the fund was almost exhausted.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will also attend part of the leaders’ meeting tomorrow, and NATO-EU cooperation on support to Ukraine will be discussed.
The use of Russia’s frozen assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine will also be evaluated at the summit meeting. EU officials state that the EU is acting cautiously, as the use of frozen assets can be both a technical issue and many consequences, and that many options on the table will be evaluated.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy is also planned to attend the meeting of EU leaders via videoconference.
Progress on immigration is difficult
On the issue of immigration, which has been one of the issues that has been challenging for the EU in recent years, a situation assessment is expected to be made after the disaster that occurred two weeks ago off the coast of Greece and caused the death of hundreds of immigrants with the sinking of a boat.
It is envisaged that issues such as the distribution of immigrants coming to EU countries such as Italy and Greece, especially in the south, to other member countries and their financing will constitute an important part of the discussions.
While some countries continue to be reluctant to accept immigrants, it is stated that a group of EU countries wants the EU Commission to find “innovative solutions”. These countries, including Austria and Denmark, are allegedly seeking new solutions to controversial issues such as the resettlement of migrants.
It seems unlikely that a result will come out of this summit meeting on migration, which has been on the agenda at all EU summits this year.
Cyprus and the Western Balkans
Some of the other topics that will come to the fore at the EU Leaders’ Summit are expected to be China-EU relations, the Western Balkans, Kosovo and Cyprus issue.
It is envisaged that the leaders will send a strong message to the parties in order to de-escalate the tension on Kosovo. Countries in the Western Balkans are also expected to be encouraged to advance their EU processes.
EU officials, who gave information about the summit issues, argue that a new momentum has emerged for the resumption of negotiations on Cyprus.
Expressing the desire of the EU to help the negotiations start and progress, EU officials state that the process should proceed under the leadership of the United Nations, but the EU can also help in this.
It is noted that EU leaders will evaluate on a timetable for the resumption of negotiations.