Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday morning, before the start of the special European summit on security and aid to Ukraine.
During the meeting, the Belgian PM assured Zelenskyy that Ukraine could count on Belgium's support. He added that there cannot be peace negotiations without Ukraine and that any decision about Europe requires European representation.
Zelenskyy visited De Wever in his offices at Rue de la Loi 16 at 11:00. "Today we are in Europe, and it is important that the support of our European partners continues," Zelenskyy said upon his arrival.
The meeting was followed by consultations with other ministers, including Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) and Interior Affairs Minister Bernard Quintin (MR).
Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha was also present. The ministers discussed the situation in Ukraine, as well as the European summit later on Thursday.
De Wever and Zelenskyy previously spoke over the phone at the end of last month, when the Ukrainian President invited the Prime Minister to visit Kyiv. It was agreed on Thursday that this invitation would be accepted, although there is no concrete date for the visit.
Turning the page?
Now that the United States has changed its policy on Ukraine, the time has come to "turn the page on defence" and increase support for Ukraine, European leaders said. The only question is whether the 27 Member States can come to a joint response.
Since the US announced that it will start direct talks with Russia on Ukraine, talks on strengthening the EU's defence have gained momentum.
After several consultations between EU and NATO Member States, European Council President António Costa felt the time was ripe to invite the EU's 27 leaders to an another European summit – "the most important summit in years," according to many. He hopes to "take the first decisions in the short term, to make Europe more sovereign and better able to face immediate and future challenges to its security."
On the table is a plan from the European Commission to pump extra money into European defence. It wants to give the Member States budgetary space to invest in defence, and is also proposing a new mechanism to grant €150 billion in loans for investments in industry.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Council President António Costa, Thursday 19 December 2024. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
The details still need to be worked out, but the Commission hopes to receive the mandate to submit concrete proposals by the next EU summit on 20 and 21 March. Various diplomatic sources speak of a "significant first step" with which much can be achieved in the short term, Belga News Agency reports.
A second plan on the table is one from High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas, to scale up arms production and defence capabilities and send additional ammunition to Ukraine. After the meeting of EU foreign ministers last week, Kallas indicated that there was "broad support" for the plan, but no unanimity yet.
On Thursday, discussions on security guarantees from the EU if a peace agreement is reached in Ukraine are also expected. "In addition to continued military support, it is about sending troops, for example. That debate is premature as there is no ceasefire yet, but we can start talking about a framework," according to a source.
Additionally, the EU must eventually define its place in the so-called "coalition of the willing" of NATO members.
Previous meetings
Earlier on Thursday, Costa received future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Brussels, a few hours before the exceptional summit.
While outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz will represent Germany at the summit, Merz made an impression by announcing massive investments to strengthen its army, something that was long unimaginable in Europe's leading economy.
On Wednesday, he also met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
This article was updated at 12:37.
