Bruxelles, le 16 avril 2025 - 20:14:15

François Vieira

PhotoJournaliste accrédité UE

Membre du Syndicat des Journalistes à Lisbonne

Voir : Images à La Une

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Thank you, it is good to see you here in Luxembourg. It is my first time in this building, so it is interesting and different.

We had many important topics that we discussed today. First, of course, Ukraine. It is clear that all Member States want peace. And, remember, we had 27 [EU] countries who supported the ceasefire. Also, Ukraine agreed to unconditional ceasefire already a month ago.  

Yet, we are seeing that Russia alone wants war, because we [saw one of] the deadliest attacks yesterday: Sumy air strikes over the weekend. It is clear that they are stalling and [do] not want peace at all. So, the only way to get Russia to negotiate seriously is putting some more pressure on Russia.  

Then, second the military aid to Ukraine. I mean, one [part] is putting pressure on Russia, but then the other part is also helping Ukraine to defend itself. It is clear that we are the biggest provider of military aid, we are also the biggest buyer from the Ukraine defence industry and the biggest supporter of the defence industry. We also have the mission of training Ukrainian soldiers [EUMAM Ukraine], [we have already trained] over 73,000 soldiers. So, today we also discussed what more we [can] do when it comes to the missions: should we expand the mandate of the missions that we have in order to contribute to the security guarantees of coalition of the willing. Then, when it comes to the initiative of delivering 2 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, I am happy to see that we have already reached the two- thirds of the target. We still do not have 100%, but we definitely need to move forward with that. The large majority of Member States agrees that we need to do more. I am also happy to see Norway contributing with €400 million part, so [the support] goes beyond the European Union. When it comes to the support for this year, then already this year, Members States [of] the European Union have contributed more than €23 billion to Ukraine. Last year, it was [€] 20 billion together with the help of United States, altogether [€]40 billion last year. So, we still have room to go.  

Then third: putting the pressure on Russia. It is clear, that we are working on the 17th package [of sanctions]. Also, the shadow fleet and different elements there to put it together for the Foreign Affairs Council in May.  

Then, the second big topic is [the] Middle East and there of course we discussed the situation of Gaza. We will later today have a first ever High-Level Dialogue with Palestine, also discussing its future. What all the Member States agree is that we support the Two-State solution and. We have also proposed €1.6 billion support for three years for Palestinian Authority, who should be the one providing those services to the Palestinians.

When it comes to the overall situation, then it is very grave and of course we really want the mediators to come back to the negotiation table, and resume the ceasefire and release all hostages. The humanitarian aid we are giving to Gaza and Palestinians it should not be politicised. What it means is that it has to reach the people that are in need. Israel has the right to defend itself, but its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defence. We welcome the Arab Plan for reconstruction of Gaza, but at the same time it lacks three important elements which are funding, security, and governance of Gaza. But we are willing to work with our Arab partners, international partners to develop on these topics.  

Then, we had a very intense discussion on Syria and whether to go on with the easing of the sanctions. And there it is clear, that in order to reconstruct Syria, they need access to services. But it is also clear that we have not seen many steps from the new leadership. And [the] future of Syria is still very fragile, but still hopeful. We agreed that we will evaluate the process so far because we have done some lifting of the sanctions. But we will also work to propose next steps, of course, keeping in mind the conditionalities, the red lines that we will put, or the conditions that we really want to see. So, we will work on the technical specifications there and then come back if we are ready to agree and move forward with this step.

Then on Iran, we adopted sanctions for state sponsored hostage taking.  [Seven individuals and two entities]. were sanctioned. And when it comes to the Iran nuclear talks in Oman, these are a step in the right direction because we do not want to see a nuclear weapon developed by Iran.   

Then, we had a discussion on Africa and there I thanked all those Member States who have represented also the European Union on their side on different events in different parts of Africa. What is clear is that all the Member States want more engagement with African countries and not to lose them to any outside influence like Russia or China.  

We definitely have something to offer. And as we have the African Union - European Union Ministerial [meeting] coming - it is the third of a kind - then we were discussing what could be the deliverables. Of course, also in Africa we see some very worrying developments, like the worst humanitarian crisis in Sudan. We also discussed what more can we do. We condemn the attacks on the Zamzam refugee camp by the Rapid Support Forces. These assaults on the most vulnerable are utterly unacceptable and must stop. We also have tomorrow in London a Sudan aid conference where Commissioner Lahbib will represent the European Union and it is organised together with France, UK, and Germany.  

And then last point, we discussed yesterday, but also today. We also had the Western Balkan ministers with us. And today we had very good discussions on Western Balkans. It is clear that the stability and security of the region is essential. If you look at the map, Western Balkans are in Europe geographically. They should also be in the European Union. And that is why the enlargement process is super important, and we need to move forward with that. We see Albania and Montenegro doing good steps and good reforms. So hopefully we will have some success stories from there.

Then, in Bosnia Herzegovina, it is in [a] constitutional crisis and it is clear that any attempt to break Bosnia Herzegovina is unacceptable. The political leaders must bridge divisions, not to widen them. And when I was there, I was also seeing that enlargement is something that they all agree on. So, they should move with the decisions in this regard because the international intervention could be phased out if everybody sees that they are able to make their decisions on their own.   

And then, finally on Serbia and Kosovo, it is clear that the normalisation of their relations is of utmost importance. And that is why the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue must continue. We have appointed a new Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, and I will also visit [them] later in May. But what was also discussed and very clearly said by different Member States is that any participation in the 9th of May parades - or celebrations - in Moscow will be not taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe.

I will stop here, and I am ready to take your questions. 

  
Suivantes >>>