The Council meeting on Monday with the foreign ministers of the EU Member States was intensive as foreseen but left also main issues open for further discussions and decisions.
In the absence of written conclusions from the meeting, the press remarks after the meeting by Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, sheds some light on what was discussed and agreed. Compared to what she said before the meeting, there were no surprises.
On Ukraine and defence: There is broad political support for her defence initiative of €40 billion but right now the discussion is on the details.
Ukraine became the world’s largest importer of major arms in the period 2020–24, according to new data by SIPRI on international arms transfers. The US is the dominant global arms exporter and supplied 64 % of the arms to European NATO members. The other main suppliers were France and South Korea (6.5 % each), Germany (4.7 %) and Israel (3.9 %).
Will the ReArm Europe package and Kallas’ own defence plan change the EU’s dependence on US weapons?
“It’s still not clear what the plans will include and if the EU will set any conditions on Member States’ procurement related to defence spending,” replied Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher at SIPRI. “Important is that the EU will not fund the military spending by EU states but will provide loans and other assistance to enable them to finance their national military spending.”
He noted that a large part of current military spending goes to personnel and operations instead of arms procurement. “Considering the close relations between the European arms industry and the industry in the rest of the world (including European subsidiaries and collaboration projects outside Europe), it would seem difficult to set rules for how to invest in the European defence industry.”
Everybody at the Council meeting also welcomed the results of the Jeddah talks between the US and Ukraine on a ceasefire. “Now the ball is in Russia's court but what we see right now that Russia really does not want peace,” Kallas said.
“The understanding around the table is that Russia cannot really be trusted. They will seize this opportunity to present all kinds of demands. And what we already see, they are presenting demands that are their ultimate goals. So, let's see how this develops further.”
Among the few decisions, the Council adopted a decision authorising the European Commission to take part, on behalf of the EU, in the negotiations for an international instrument setting up an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.
On the Middle East: Everybody condemned the politicisation of humanitarian aid by Israel, she said. The Israeli government has stopped aid convoys into Gaza and cut electricity during the talks on the implementation of the ceasefire. “Aid has to reach the people in need in Gaza,” she stressed.
The Council also welcomed the Arab peace or reconstruction plan for Gaza with the caveat that Hamas does not have any future role in the rebuilding of Gaza. Of course, there are elements that need to be discussed further, she added. Contrary to his turn-about on Ukraine, Trump has not withdrawn his “transfer plan” for Gaza and left Israel to decide if it should resume the war in Gaza.
Foreign Affairs Council roundtable, credit: EU
On Syria, she referred to the Syria conference which followed on Monday afternoon, where participating countries were expected to pledge significant financial support.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would later announce that the EU is committing nearly €2.5 billion for 2025 and 2026 to aid Syria's transition process and the country's socio-economic recovery, while also addressing the urgent humanitarian needs, both within Syria and in the host communities across Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Türkiye.
Almost half of the amount (€1.1 billion) goes to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities in Türkiye for 2025 and 2026.
The latest development in Syria is very worrying, Kallas said, referring to the killings of civilians belonging the Alawite minority in the coastal part of the Syria in clashes between pro-Assad groups and the interim government.
Basically, the EU faces the dilemma of continuing with the ease of sanctions or halting the process. But she warned that if people are not able to work and develop their prosperity there, it is going to create chaos in Syria. Chaos could create civil war. The choice taken was to give the interim government a chance.
“Our position right now that we are helping Syria to move further. Of course, we want to see that the current leadership is seriously holding accountable those who were responsible for the violence”. The EU also wants to see a peaceful government build-up and transition which will include all different religious and ethnic groups.
She clarified that the discussion among the ministers was that EU is continuing with its plan to relieve the sanctions to prevent further violence and give hope to the Syrian people.
The conference on pledges for Syria was also supposed to mobilise political support for a Syrian-led inclusive political transition, according to an EU official last week. The EU has welcomed the recent agreement between the interim government in Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in north-east Syria but declined to comment on its details.
The agreement, which was signed by interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, consist of eight points aiming at granting citizenship and minority rights to the Kurdish minority and integrating its forces in the national army. Türkiye which also welcomed the agreement insists that the SDF should be disarmed.
On Iran, she ticked off all the points on the agenda: Iran’s destabilization role in the Middle East, its military aid to Russia, arbitrary hostage policy and nuclear programme. She confirmed that the Council had discussed how all EU Member States can act in a unified manner to deal with Iran’s hostage taking and detention of European citizens.
Iran was not invited to the conference on Syria because of its support to the Assad regime.
As regards EU’s relationship with the US, the discussion was focused on tariffs and trade relations but no decisions were taken on how to apply EU’s retaliatory response to the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs without any exemptions on the import of steel and aluminum and derivate products from the EU.
In the past, Kallas believed in applying a “transactional” approach but it remains to be seen if it will work. The EU considers the tariffs as completely unjustified, unnecessary, unfair and counterproductive. It thinks that there is an opportunity for negotiations with the US before the EU counter measures, targeting Republican constituencies in the US, will enter into force as of 1 April.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
