After the agreement on the partial embargo on Russian oil, the Twenty-seven opted on the second day of the European Council to strengthen Europe’s defense, first by maintaining efforts to support Ukraine with weapons and joint acquisitions, and in the longer term to achieve advances in the integration of industrial capacity.
Faced with the demand to continue sending weapons to kyiv to contain the Russian forces, in the conclusions released this Tuesday, European leaders advocate replenishing stocks jointly and thus “boosting European defense industrial capabilities through acquisitions voluntary joints.
The European Council has also decided to promote the presentation of a Joint Defense Investment Program to promote strategic European defense projects.
In the published document, the European Council seems to delve into the idea of joining forces between the Member States instead of advancing in the production of weapons individually.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, assured this Tuesday that the European Union will now focus its efforts on ensuring the correct application of the new sanctions agreed on Monday and that include the gradual embargo of all Russian oil imported by sea. , before thinking about another round of measures against the Vladimir Putin regime for its invasion of Ukraine.
“We are concentrating on the implementation of the sixth package of sanctions. This does not prevent one member or another of the European Council from having opinions on additional sanctions, but we are focused on the implementation of the sixth package”, Michel said at a press conference in Brussels at the end of a two-day extraordinary summit of Heads of State and Government of the EU.
The legal texts that detail the content of the latest sanctions endorsed by the leaders “are in the process of being drafted”, which will allow their formal adoption by the Twenty-seven in hours, probably this Wednesday or Thursday, according to Michel’s calculations.
This is the ban on importing Russian oil by sea that will be applied progressively until it is total by the end of the year, with the aim of covering at least two thirds of the total crude oil purchased from Moscow.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated this Tuesday that more sanctions on Russia cannot be ruled out after giving the green light to the sixth package of sanctions of the European Union with escape routes for countries more dependent on Russian hydrocarbons, among which stands out Hungary.
