As war keeps ravaging, Russia threatens European security and the future of peace and democracy across our Continent. Supporting Ukraine is the surest way to defend Europe.
The EU’s 27 heads of state and government meet for an extraordinary European Council in Brussels on Thursday, 1 February 2024, to address the mid-term revision of the long-term budget, including the €50-billion special fund for Ukraine called Ukraine Facility.
This fund must be unblocked to provide Ukraine with immediate financial help to sustain the country’s recovery and reconstruction in the wake of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression. Every day of resistance costs Ukrainians the ultimate price of destroyed livelihoods and the loss of the loved ones.
If Member States are unable to agree on supporting Ukraine, the consequences for the country and the European Union’s safety will be grim. The continuity of the European financial and military support to Ukraine is threatened by the unanimity rule that has been hindering, sometimes even paralysing, the EU’s ability to make decisions at crucial times.
For this reason, we need faster and more effective decision-making mechanisms in the areas of security and defence. Our ability to show solidarity with Ukraine and defend democracy cannot be held hostage by those using their veto to serve the interest of autocrats and aggressors. It is thus time to switch to qualified majority voting (QMV) in the areas of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and pursue a fully-fledged European Defence Union (EDU), funded by the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) including through European own resources.
Beyond the current challenges, a wholesale reform of our decision-making structures and an expansion of the competences conferred upon EU is necessary for an enlarged Union capable of addressing the challenges of tomorrow. To that end, we need to start an inclusive process that will gather European, national and local politicians, civil society, social partners and citizens, in a deliberative process that will allow us to redraw the Treaties that govern the way our Union works.
Contact for more: petros.fassoulas@europeanmovement.eu
