Good morning from an unseasonably warm Brussels, where temperatures are feeling more like a southern European coastal city than a dreary northern capital.
Nonetheless, many in the Brussels Bubble have fled to the south to follow an informal gathering of the European Council in Cyprus — the first since the bloc’s disruptor-in-chief, Viktor Orbán, conceded defeat in Hungary's parliamentary elections earlier this month after 16 years in power.
After descending on the Cypriot resort town of Agia Napa on Thursday, European leaders today had plenty on their plate: responding to the economic fallout triggered by the U.S. and Israel-Iran war, strengthening the EU's mutual defense clause as NATO comes under unprecedented strain, and finding a way forward on the ever-contentious next seven-year budget.
Still, there was an undeniable sense of relief. The outgoing Orbán, who faced a crushing defeat at the polls on April 12, lifted his veto ahead of the talks, paving the way for leaders to finally sign off on a long overdue €90 billion loan to Kyiv, as well as a 20th sanctions package on Russia. The cash infusion for Ukraine, which had initially been agreed to in December, will be essential for the country to continue to mount a defense against Russia’s four-year-long assault.
“Now it’s time to look forward and to prepare for the next step,” said an upbeat Council President António Costa on Thursday. “And the next step is to formally open the first clusters of negotiations for the European accession of Ukraine to the European Union.”
However, the reality is less rosy. While not as forcefully opposed as Budapest had been, several other capitals are also hesitant about fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU membership.
No matter how often senior officials from the European Commission have made the case for what the bloc stands to gain from bringing Ukraine into the fold, there’s little appetite to make it happen quickly, and even less so by 2027 — the timeframe floated by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. Among the top concerns are fears that Ukraine would drain resources from an already shaky EU budget, while still falling short on rule of law and corruption standards.
As with any informal EUCO, few observers expect leaders to make many concrete decisions, especially on perennial battles like how to fund the next long-term budget. Yet being able to debate without an impending veto at the end is certainly something EU leaders must find refreshing.
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