The EU is preparing for an incredibly busy diplomatic week: a meeting of defense chiefs will take place on Wednesday, European leaders will hold an economic summit on Thursday, and the Munich Security Conference will begin on Friday, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected, Politico reports, writes UNN.
Details
"The EU is bracing for an incredibly challenging week, during which leaders will discuss the most pressing issues facing the continent," the publication states.
Their mission, as stated: "to understand how to make Europe a strong global player in an increasingly ruthless world." "This means increasing the EU's economic competitiveness, reducing dependence on the US, and helping Ukraine counter Russia's exhausting four-year invasion," the publication writes.
The coming days will show whether "Europe can turn around and become truly united, fully mature and independent," said former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Like the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, "which made Europe what it has become over the last 35 years," Letta said, "now we have to do the same again."
Leaders will continue their crisis diplomacy on the road: from a conference room in Brussels to a castle in the Belgian countryside and, finally, to Munich for the world's largest international security conference, the publication writes. In addition, MEPs will meet in Strasbourg to discuss unfreezing the EU-US trade agreement and approving the long-term budget (MFF) for the period from 2028 to 2034, and ambassadors from all member states will hold talks in Brussels on Tuesday.
Meeting of EU defense chiefs on Wednesday
The agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which will bring together EU defense ministers, has only one item: support for Ukraine
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, appointed last month after serving as Minister of Digital Transformation, is expected to attend the meeting and brief the bloc's defense chiefs on his country's "most urgent" needs ahead of the four-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, a European official said.
"Fedorov will likely ask for additional anti-aircraft missile systems, including Patriot and NASAMS, which have long been on Kyiv's priority list. The meeting will also discuss "cooperation in defense innovation," which is code for drones and other new military technologies," the publication states.
According to Fabrice Pothier, CEO of the consulting firm Rasmussen Global, Wednesday's meeting should force "Europe to urgently think about a real Plan B for its own security," as the US increasingly withdraws from the transatlantic alliance. "Europe must be able to stand on its own two feet if we are left alone," he said.
The meeting will be followed by an informal dinner and an evening press conference with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
European leaders to gather for economic summit on Thursday
The situation in Ukraine, it is noted, will take a back seat when leaders of the 27 EU member states gather in the tiny Belgian village of Rijkhoeven to discuss the bloc's economic problems.
In a remote location, at the 16th-century Alden Biesen Castle, they will discuss "how to make the EU richer: from simplifying legislation to strengthening the single market and reducing dependence on critical raw materials from other parts of the world."
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will participate in the all-day summit and brief leaders on the process of approving the EU-US trade agreement (a vote by all MEPs to abolish tariffs on American industrial goods and lobsters is likely to take place in March).
Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and former Italian Prime Minister Letta will also address the leaders and "share their vision for European competitiveness," according to an invitation sent to leaders by European Council President António Costa. Both Draghi and Letta have prepared reports on how to make Europe more competitive.
Although neither the US nor China were mentioned by name, Costa's invitation, the publication writes, "stressed that the EU is now in 'a world of increased – and not always fair – economic competition and trade imbalances.'"
As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month: "The bottom line is that the world has changed forever. And we need to change with it."
At Thursday's talks, the EU will try to chart a course in this changing world, the publication writes.
Friday to Sunday - Munich Security Conference
A return to defense will be at the annual Munich Security Conference, which will be attended by a host of prominent figures, "including von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy," the publication writes.
"Officially, the topics to be discussed this year will be European security and defense, as well as the future of transatlantic relations. Unofficially, the question everyone will be asking is: does the EU have any hope of standing on its own feet without Washington's help?" the publication states.
Rutte doesn't think so, urging EU lawmakers last month to "keep dreaming" if they believe Europe can do it without the US.
"You can't," he said bluntly.
Rasmussen CEO Pothier said that European "intelligence services repeatedly tell us that Russia may be ready to attack a European ally while [US President Donald] Trump is still in power," and stressed that Europe must be ready to "act independently and conduct complex military operations."
By the end of the week, there may not be answers to such important questions, but EU leaders will hope to at least define a direction of travel, the publication notes.