On 17 and 18 October, the EU’s heads of state and government will convene for the European Council meeting, with Ukraine, the Middle East, competitiveness, migration, and foreign policy on the agenda.
As the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East intensify, EU leaders must step up their efforts towards achieving lasting and just peace. As winter approaches and Ukraine faces the potential loss of its largest military backer due to the upcoming US elections, it is crucial for EU leaders to reaffirm and expand their support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s war of aggression. The EU must substantially increase military and financial aid to Ukraine, strengthen and renew sanctions against Russia, and address sanction circumventions more rigorously. Standing up to and overcoming the opposition of Prime Minister Orbán will be vital to achieving these goals. Once more we are reminded of the need for closer European collaboration in security and defence, in conjunction with NATO, in response to the threats to peace in our continent.
The rapidly escalating violence in the Middle East, involving Israel’s operations in Gaza and Lebanon and Iran’s attacks on Israel, through its proxies and directly, represents a highly dangerous and volatile situation. More than ever, EU Member States must stand united and speak with one voice. This situation highlights once more the urgent need for the EU to strengthen its diplomatic capacity and to utilise the full range of internal instruments and actors at its disposal to achieve an immediate ceasefire, the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages, and bring the parties to the negotiating table to work towards a lasting peace.
Beyond the security challenges the EU faces, the issue of competitiveness is on top of the political agenda and will be central to the work of the soon-to-be-approved College of Commissioners. The recently published Draghi report on EU competitiveness as well as the Letta report on the future of Single Market have sparked widespread debates. Enhancing competitiveness is essential to prevent the EU from losing its standing among global economic powers. It must, however, be pursued in alignment with the European Green Deal (EGD) and the decarbonisation of industry. These goals must not be seen as trade-offs but as complementary efforts to secure Europe’s economic and environmental future.
The debate on migration, and the kneejerk reaction of the partial closure of borders in the EU in response to far-right forces’ recent victories in some Member States, is counter-productive, sends the wrong message and stands in stark contrast to the founding values of the European Union. We call on EU leaders to avoid rash decisions which give unfounded legitimacy to far-right narratives and to instead adopt a measured, fact-based approach to migration policy, which addresses the needs of those fleeing war, poverty and environmental disasters with the social and economic challenges mass population movements pose to the receiving communities. We urge leaders to strongly reject the new vision of a Fortress Europe currently being promoted, and associated ideas such as deportation camps outside the EU, and to uphold a humane approach to migration based on EU values such as solidarity and cooperation between Member States.
