Possible EU Summit on Ukraine After Scholz’s Visit to Kyiv and Moscow

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is considering convening EU heads of government and state shortly for summit talks on Ukraine, insiders say in Brussels.

 

According to a senior EU official, he will make a decision on this after an analysis of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visits to Kyiv Monday, and Moscow, Tuesday.

In the event of a Russian invasion, which the Americans say could take place from Wednesday, an additional summit will be convened immediately. Still, there may be other signals that require an emergency meeting, such as a massive cyberattack to destabilize Ukraine, according to those involved.

The 27 leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Rutte, are already in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a special summit with African leaders. If they are there anyway, they could meet about Ukraine before or after, EU sources say. One of the things to be decided at the highest level is the announced but undisclosed package of heavy sanctions that the EU threatens Russia with an invasion. They must unanimously agree on this. The member states are not yet on the same page.

According to Rutte, Michel met with a number of member states on Monday morning to discuss the “worrying” situation in Ukraine. “A solution must be found through de-escalation and diplomacy. The EU and NATO are jointly ready with tough sanctions if Russia proceeds to further aggression,” Rutte tweeted afterwards.