EU EU countries reached an agreement on a strategic compass for defense policy

EU an agreement on the EU’s strategic compass was reached at a joint meeting of foreign and defense ministers on monday. The document outlines EU defense cooperation for the coming years. The Finnish mission to the EU told Twitter about the agreement.

The strategic compass has been prepared for a long time, but after the Russian invasion, the content of the document was re-filed.

Foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) said earlier on Monday that a fresh snapshot of what Russia’s attack on Europe means and what new security threats it has created has been added to the strategic compass.

“Underlying this is also the risk of using unconventional weapons, both chemical weapons and even tactical nuclear weapons. This situation in Ukraine brings completely new fears regarding these types of weapons as well, ”Haavisto said this morning.

According to Haavisto, Finland has emphasized in its own speeches that the dialogue and coordination between the military alliance NATO and the EU should be even better on a practical level. Of the EU’s 27 member states, 21 are also members of NATO.

Before at a joint meeting of foreign and defense ministers, foreign ministers discussed strengthening support for Ukraine. A new sanctions package is being prepared, but after the meeting, Foreign Minister Haavisto did not want to specify in detail what all the measures the package would include.

“Of course, we are quite silent about what they (sanctions) will affect or who they will affect because no one has time to take their funds or property to safety,” Haavisto said after the Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

According to Haavisto, the import of oil and natural gas from Russia also came up during the ministerial discussion. Some EU countries are quite dependent on Russian energy. Haavisto points out that the development of energy prices has also treated the economies of different countries differently.

“It is clearly an issue that is still being discussed among EU countries. Finland’s line, for example, has been that it does not make sense to put any EU country in deep trouble through the EU’s own decisions. ”

Ministers have asked the EU Foreign Service to conduct a country-by-country analysis of the impact of the measures.

Haavisto thinks that it is possible to replace Russian oil with oil from other markets, but the replacement of natural gas can be complicated because, for example, there are not enough distribution connections for liquefied natural gas (LNG) used to replace Russian natural gas throughout the EU.

Even before Haavisto described the effectiveness of the EU’s previous actions, but now efforts must be made to promote ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and possible peace talks to end hostilities.

“The more we are able to channel aid from here to the European Union, the stronger the situation in Ukraine will be for all negotiations,” Haavisto said this morning.

The EU has imposed a number of sanctions on Russia and Belarus, including on policymakers, oligarchs, banks and various export products.

According to Haavisto, any gaps left in previous sanctions must now be filled.

“It is very important that Belarus is under enough pressure in this situation. Of course, we will do everything we can to prevent Belarus from joining this war with full force. ”

EU foreign ministers will also discuss informally with the Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescun with. Discussions will focus on the impact of the Ukrainian war on Moldova, which has received the most people fleeing the war in Ukraine relative to the population.

Haavisto even describes Moldova’s affiliations as heartbreaking. In addition to the refugee situation, Popescu raised potential threats of possible proliferation of hostilities on the Moldovan side.

Moldova could become a battleground, for example, if Russia began to use its troops stationed in Transnistria against Moldova, or if Ukrainian troops had to give way to Moldova as Russian troops progressed in Ukraine.

Sanctions In addition to the pressure created through the EU, the EU has supported Ukraine, for example by sending weapons.

The foreign ministers also discussed the doubling of arms and defense aid to Ukraine through the Peace Facility. According to Haavisto, the foreign ministers gave the green light to double the size of the peace fund from 500 million to one billion euros.

In addition to support measures, the situation in Ukraine will be discussed more broadly at the Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

“Above all, the humanitarian situation there is worrying. During the weekend, I was also in contact with the International Red Cross about the situation in Mariupol, among other things, asking what else we can do more, ”Haavisto said.

The port city of Mariupol in the south of Ukraine has already been almost completely destroyed. More than 300,000 people are still trapped in the city.

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell called Russia’s actions in Mariupol a huge war crime. He stated at the beginning of the Foreign Ministers’ meeting that Russia is destroying everything and bombing to kill everyone.

International efforts to end hostilities will continue this week. The weight is increased by the fact that the President of the United States Joe Biden will be visiting Europe this week.

Biden will take part in an extraordinary summit of the military alliance NATO and an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. Thursday is a busy day for the meeting, because then the leaders of the G7 countries are also scheduled to discuss Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

On Friday, Biden will continue his journey from Belgium to Poland.

Haavisto believes that Biden’s visit is important, especially in terms of strengthening the sense of belonging of NATO countries.

“Many countries are concerned about their own security in this situation. Biden’s visit is definitely important for the Baltic countries and Poland, ”Haavisto reflected.