The EU’s defense and foreign ministers meet in Toledo, Spain. The core issue is support for Ukraine. Sanctions against the putschists in Niger, as demanded by several EU countries, are also up for debate.
It’s a historical landmark and a spectacular setting. In the “Antigua Fabrica de Armas”, on the outskirts of the old town of Toledo, the Spanish kings had world-famous swords and other war equipment made since the 18th century. The powder magazines were housed on the opposite bank of the Tajo River. Of course, the fact that the foreign and defense ministers of the European Union are meeting in a historic armory also has a symbolic meaning. After all, Toledo is once again about further aid for Ukraine and a signal to Moscow.
“Russia must know that the European Union will continue to support Ukraine. Because helping Ukraine means supporting world peace, democracy and freedom,” stressed Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
Whether there will be negotiations at a high diplomatic level about an end to the Russian war of aggression in the foreseeable future – for example on the fringes of the forthcoming UN General Assembly in New York, as has recently been speculated – is completely open. From the EU’s point of view, it is clear: only Ukraine can decide when and what to negotiate, as EU Commission spokesman Peter Stano clarified again:
Putin started the war and he can end it at any time. The Ukrainians are defending themselves, they are fighting for survival — and they decide under what conditions and when potential peace talks begin.
debate about more weapons shipments
There has been talk of international security guarantees for Ukraine for some time. At the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in early July, a number of countries made corresponding commitments. For the EU, this means guaranteeing the attacked country permanent and sustainable support: politically and economically, but also militarily, for example with training missions for the Ukrainian army or with weapons and ammunition.
Ukraine is negotiating with Germany about the delivery of cruise missiles of the “Taurus” type. A decision is still pending. At the government meeting of the traffic light coalition in Meseberg, this should also be discussed.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the end of last week that not only the IRIS-T air defense system, but also Leopard II self-propelled howitzers and tanks made an “important contribution to protecting the people of Ukraine”. “And from this point of view, we are examining all of Ukraine’s further wishes and will proceed with a division of labour, just as we have done relatively successfully in the last few months from my point of view as a European, as NATO countries,” said the Green politician.
EU wants to increase the peace fund significantly
In the spring, the EU promised Ukraine one million artillery shells within a year, and according to official information from Brussels, about a quarter of this has been received so far. Because military aid costs a lot of money, the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, wants to increase the European Peace Fund, which largely finances armaments deliveries and training operations. Borrell would like to collect 20 billion euros from the EU member states for the next four years in order to create planning security instead of having to haggle over significantly smaller amounts every few months.
EU considers sanctions against putschists in Niger
In addition, the ministers in Toledo will deal with the military coup in Niger. At the end of July, the army declared the country’s democratically elected president deposed and arrested him along with other members of the government.
At the weekend, the putschists asked the French ambassador to leave the country immediately. The almost 2,000 soldiers that France has stationed in Niger for the fight against terrorism are also to go – which Paris firmly rejects.
The West African confederation of states ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on the Nigerien army leadership and is not ruling out military intervention. The EU also speaks of a further provocation and also wants to introduce punitive measures. However, both the defense and the foreign ministers’ conferences are so-called informal meetings. This means that concrete decisions are unlikely to be made.