Members of the European Parliament discussed the results of the latest EU summits on Tuesday and voiced their dissatisfaction with the European Commission’s decisions on Ukraine, according to European Parliament News.
European Council President Charles Michel expressed determination to launch negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the bloc and to approve a new financial aid package for the country. He reiterated the EU’s pledge to provide the country with more ammunition and stated that “each euro mobilised for Ukraine is an investment in our own security, prosperity and stability.”
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the agreement on a 50-billion-euro aid package for Ukraine provides good foresight for the country over the next four years.
This is what it means to stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Addressing the first ever revision of the EU’s long-term budget, she emphasised that the EU now has the financial resources to deal with some of the challenges it will face this decade. However, she did not elaborate on the exact problems the bloc would encounter.
Referring to the farmers’ protests, she claimed that agricultural workers “must be paid fairly.” President von der Leyen also announced that the Commission would withdraw its proposal to reduce pesticide use and present options for possible future reforms by the end of the summer.
Some MEPs raised the idea of utilising frozen Russian assets and disturbing political developments in the US, while others expressed alarm at the threat of the war spreading beyond Ukraine. MEPs warned that the ongoing arms race is not sustainable.
