EU summit ends: No Russian oil sanctions, Ukraine membership
Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Paris
A two-day summit of European Union leaders in Versailles, France to discuss Russia’s military operation in Ukraine concluded with increasingly belligerent rhetoric possibly overshadowing the rejection of concrete sanctions.
Led by the Eastern members of the bloc, the EU will not impose sanctions on Russian gas and oil. In mid-May a proposal could be unveiled to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
The Western members of the EU led the swift rejection of Ukraine’s appeal for fast-track membership to the bloc.
The EU and NATO claim they have excluded direct military intervention in Ukraine. The EU did double to 1 billion euros the amount of military aid for Ukraine. It’s the first such military involvement for the bloc, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.
After the United States admitted the presence of facilities, the United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting to discuss biological weapons labs in Ukraine.
Some in Europe are saying that Russia’s military action is on the same level as 9/11, and that the EU must bolster cooperation on defense and drastically boost military spending.
If the EU follows through on some of these promises and sanctions, Europe will likely see a multi-year effect on prices of food, energy and basic goods; the “green transition” which some think is so vital will likely need to be reversed. The summit ends much as it began: it’s not fully clear how far the EU will go to get involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
A poll last month showed that two-thirds of France is favorable to organizing a referendum on leaving the European Union. If massive and controversial changes aren’t approved with a democratic vote, it’s possible the EU could be fomenting even more discontent.
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