‘Solidarity With Ukraine Should Remain Top Of Agenda’ Says EP President Roberta Metsola
In an address to European leaders at the European Council in Brussels, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola urged EU representatives to keep Ukraine at the top of the agenda, to reflect current realities by adapting the EU’s budget – and to find a way forward on migration.
“Solidarity with Ukraine must remain at the top of our agenda, said the EP President.
”It is as existential to Ukraine as it is to Europe. We need to hold steady, even if in the coming months things get harder for Ukraine.”
Metsola said she welcomed the 11th package of sanctions, and the addition of €50 billion in support for Ukraine’s repair, recovery and reconstruction, both of which were announced last week. Despite welcoming this announcement, Metsola thinks Europe should prepare to go further in its expression of solidarity than just sending financial aid.
“We must be ready to take membership negotiations to the next stage when the reform criteria have been sufficiently met, and I hope it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Metsola’s speech came after the unique events which shook the Kremlin last week – when the Wagner Group leader turned his mercenary forces and began to march towards Moscow.
Vladimir Putin was reportedly shocked and infuriated by the move. Though Prigozhin later said that his move was not a coup attempt, but a rebellion against the Russian Federation’s military generals, the dramatic day’s events revealed that there may be larger fissures in Putin’s powerful grip over Russia than many thought possible.
“The events in Russia have raised a number of questions relating to its internal dynamics and the fragility of their systems,” said Metsola, before adding, “including its effects on the invasion of Ukraine and on European security as a whole.”
“The political agreement we reached this week on the joint procurement in defence will help Member States restock their defence needs and become more interoperable. It will also help Ukrainians, who count on our delivery of weapons and ammunition.”
As a result of the invasion of Ukraine, Europe is re-militarising with an intensity that has not been seen since the buildup to the Second World War.
“The progress on our negotiations on the Act in Support of Ammunition Production is also encouraging, and I remain convinced that we will reach a political agreement in the coming weeks.”
“Together we are matching demand with supply. We are matching rhetoric with action. We are delivering.”
Metsola also spoke at length about the urgency of “delivering” on migration.
“It is urgent. Last week the cemetery of the Mediterranean claimed the lives of another 300 people, many of whom will never be identified. That’s another 300 dreams shattered. Another 300 families forever broken.”
“The European Parliament stands ready to work to find a way forward by the end of this legislature that respects borders, that is fair with those in need of protection, firm with those who are not eligible, and that breaks the business model of traffickers preying on the vulnerable.”
“It must be our laws and legal framework that create the rules, not trafficking networks. The longer we wait, the stronger the networks become and the more lives will be lost.”
Though this is often the European focus, attempting to tackle any problem – such as migration – at the downstream end is only going to redirect the flow.
More upstream solutions, such as seeking to mitigate economic imbalances which lead many people to make the choice to uproot their lives and try to build a better one in Europe. Metsola acknowledged this.
“We also cannot ignore the external dimension of this issue. We have a role that allows us to invest and cooperate more with countries in Africa. However, we cannot make the age-old mistake of talking to Africa only when it comes to migration.”
“We need to engage strategically on investments, on joint projects and in a spirit of partnership. We must talk with, not talk to, and understand that if we withdraw then countries in Africa will simply seek other partners.”
Europe, broadly, has an ageing workforce, and historical wealth which was acquired by plundering and robbing the rest of the world – and many parts of the African continent endured a particularly high concentration of colonial subjugation and exploitation.
The impacts of that which European colonial and imperial forces did – which is ongoing, in some cases – continues to be visible in the massively unequal realities experienced by EU citizens and many of those citizens from across the sprawling African continent.
“It is time for a collective shift in thinking. Many have already positioned themselves in this geopolitical change. We must be ready to do the same.”
What do you make of Metsola’s priorities?
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