EU summit: strong signal to Russia required

The main focus of the EU summit is to deal with the Russian troop deployment on the Ukrainian border. Chancellor Scholz is under special observation.

Of course, the new ones will be the focus of the EU summit for now. The Swede Magdalena Andersson or the Austrian Karl Nehammer. Above all, however, the summit round of heads of state and government should be interested in what Chancellor Olaf Scholz has to say.

For example, that the German Chancellor thinks that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s order to expel two Russian diplomats for the so-called Tiergarten Murder is absolutely correct. Or that Olaf Scholz also considers the troop deployment on the Ukrainian border to be worrying.

“That is why we will emphasize once again today that the inviolability of borders is one of the most important foundations of peace in Europe and that we will do everything together to ensure that this inviolability remains,” said Scholz.

“Most dangerous situation since the end of the Cold War”

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda speaks of the most dangerous situation in the region since the end of the Cold War 30 years ago in view of the combat troops and heavy weapons from Russia in the immediate vicinity of the European Union. He called on the EU to do everything possible to prevent the worst case scenario, namely a Russian attack on Ukraine.

Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins does not believe that Russia could actually feel threatened by NATO and Ukraine, as the leadership in Moscow claims. He suspects completely different motives behind Vladimir Putin’s aggressive foreign policy, namely “the fear that democracy will come to Russia via Ukraine. ”

However, everyone agrees that this summit should send a strong signal to Moscow, namely that military aggression will come at a very high price for the attacker. There is talk of harsh economic sanctions and the fact that Russia could be cut off from the international financial market. The EU does not want to be more specific – that is part of the deterrent strategy, it is said in Brussels.

Eastern European calls for Nord Stream 2

For the Eastern Europeans in particular, however, it is clear that if the worst comes to the worst, the end of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline must also be discussed. “Putin is currently trying to blackmail the EU with Nord Stream by claiming that the pipeline has to go online if Europe wants more natural gas,” said Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. “But that’s just wrong, because there are enough pipelines to supply the EU, namely through Ukraine.”

Others, such as Finland and Austria, believe that the Ukraine crisis should be separated from the gas supply discussion. When it comes to the question of whether and what politicians should do about the high energy prices, opinions differ widely, also because each state decides for itself how it wants to relieve its citizens and companies. In any case, there is no majority in sight for interventions in the market or changes in emissions trading.

Disagreement on Corona

Even in the fight against the corona pandemic, European unity is once again facing a stress test. There are huge differences in vaccination rates, the subject of compulsory vaccination is controversial, countries such as Italy, Portugal or Greece require a negative PCR test in addition to the digital vaccination certificate when entering the country.

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel does not believe that new travel restrictions are the right solution: “We should also take good care of people’s mental health,” said Bettel. You couldn’t tell people now to stay home. In addition, additional PCR tests should not replace vaccination.