Everything as planned. The slow machine of theEuropean Union is taking its first timid steps with difficulty towards that paradigm shift in the architecture of continental defence, a problem that has now become "existential" for the survival of the European institutions themselves according to the warning launched a few days ago by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
EU, agreement on rearmament plan
Yesterday extraordinary summit on 800 billion euro EU ReArm program and analysis of the situation in Ukraine after the US decision to suspend military aid to Kiev. The dialogue continues however and next Tuesday in Riyadh a new meeting between American and Ukrainian emissaries is planned while the president Volodymir Zelensky yesterday in Brussels to participate in the meeting with the 27 continues to find full European support starting with the French President Emmanuel Macron which he offered together with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer a nuclear blanket for all of Europe.
EU, Orbán's veto remains isolated
The European Council has therefore found an agreement on the programme to strengthen European defence. on the basis of the plan proposed by the European Commission which provides for maximum flexibility on the expenditure of member states, the collection on the market of 150 billion with the issue of EU bonds for loans to governments at favorable rates and with a long maturity, the possibility of using cohesion funds for defense investments. The conclusions on Ukraine were instead adopted by only 26 member states. The veto of the Hungarian prime minister therefore remains, Viktor Orbán, which did not allow the unanimous adoption of the conclusions. The opposition of the Hungarian Prime Minister therefore remained while the Slovak veto would have fallen in the face of the inclusion in the text of guarantees on gas transit in Ukraine.
EU, the white paper on European defence
The European Council expects that in White Paper on European Defence which will be presented by the Commission in mid-month there are "further elements and options aimed at substantially increasing funding for European defence and strengthening the European defence technological and industrial base". These are additional sums to those indicated in the proposals discussed by the 27 leaders for an extraordinary plan to finance defence spending (650 billion of national budget space widening the Stability Pact and 150 billion in loans to governments with funds raised on the market by the European Commission). The final declaration of the summit does not mention the options at stake, but these two hypotheses have also been discussed for some time: the first it is the issue of common debt in the wake of the Recovery Fund with which the PNRRs are financed, the second it is the recourse to the European Stability Mechanism, the fateful ESM whose treaty Italy has yet to ratify. The Brussels White Paper will serve to start a discussion between governments.
EU: The rearmament plan and Meloni's position
The Italian position is very complex. The Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the fact that "in the aftermath of Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to open up to the deduction of defense expenditure from the deficit/GDP calculation, there is also a debate that is starting to open up on a comprehensive review of the Stability Pact". A hypothesis that for Meloni should concern competitiveness as well as defense. As for theuse of cohesion funds for the purchase of weapons according to Meloni "Italy has reported that the majority of these resources are resources that in some way have to do with debt.
Clearly when nations like ours approach the subject of debt there are risks that must be taken into consideration. I think that, for example, we are now developing this proposal that will be brought by Minister Giorgetti at the next Ecofin, that for example we should imagine European guarantee instruments for private investments on the InvestEU model, so we are making proposals for which we can also find resources to encourage investments and therefore also create jobs, help companies with European guarantees for those investments”.
Meloni doesn't even like the word rearmament because "the concept of defense and security today concerns many areas of citizens' daily life and not simply being equipped with adequate weapons, which is a theme. But there is the theme of raw material and cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and many domains that we have to deal with on a daily basis". Meloni is also against the hypothesis of a European peacekeeping force as proposed by Paris and London.
On the highly controversial entry of Ukraine into NATO, Meloni supports rather the extension of Article 5 of the NATO for Ukraine which “would be much more effective”.
EU, Zelensky's requests
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the 27 to part of the new defense spending should be earmarked for aid to Ukraine. Zelensky also announced that the Ukrainian and American teams “have resumed work” and hopes that the two nations will have a “meaningful meeting” next week. The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday next week in Saudi Arabia. Rubio, Witkoff, Waltz should go to Riyadh to meet Ukrainian representatives, including Yermak, Zelensky's right-hand man.
The Ukrainian president also said on X that he had decided with Macron a meeting on March 11 “of the military representatives of the countries willing to make greater efforts to ensure reliable security in the context of the end of this war” or ready to form a coalition to support Ukraine.
