The EU increases pressure on Putin after the failed meeting with Trump.

BrusselsThe European Union remains firm in its support for Ukraine despite Donald Trump's blind shotsThe European club already issued a joint statement with Kiev on Tuesday. in which he closed the door to giving away the entire Donbas region to Vladimir Putin before sitting down at the negotiating table and reminded the United States—cautiously, so as not to anger the White House tenant—that the Kremlin is giving no indication of wanting to end the war and sign a ceasefire or a peace agreement. And, after the meeting had failed between the president of the United States and the president of Russia In Budapest, the European bloc intends to use the opportunity to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin at the summit of European leaders this Thursday in Brussels. "We send a clear message to Russia: we never tire of helping Ukraine," stressed the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.

The heads of state and government agreed at the meeting, which was also attended by Volodymyr Zelensky, nineteenth package of sanctions against Russia"The EU is determined to maintain and increase its pressure on Russia to stop its brutal war of aggression," stated the conclusions agreed upon by the heads of state and government meeting in the Belgian capital, with the exception of the pro-Russian Hungarian Viktor Orbán.

According to the same document, the nineteenth package of sanctions aims to end "the import of fossil fuels." Currently, the only country that opposed them was one of the countries, along with Hungary, that is most pro-Russian and most dependent on Putin's regime for energy: Slovakia. Finally, diplomatic sources have announced that Bratislava has lifted its veto and allowed the new restrictions against Moscow to go ahead.

Beyond stopping the purchase of Russian energy products, the European Union also wants to increase and strengthen sanctions and controls against Russia's "ghost fleet," the Russian-made ships that secretly transport oil and manage to evade sanctions from the European bloc itself. These sanctions were sealed the day after the United States also announced energy sanctions in Moscow. "These sanctions are crucial for us," Zelensky thanked the media.

Diplomatic sources from the European Council and several member states were already less optimistic about the consensus on using the Frozen Russian funds held in the EU to re-arm Ukraine And finally, they have agreed to move the ball forward and continue discussing how to move the initiative forward in the coming months. Some partners have legal doubts about the measure, especially Belgium. This money is managed by a Brussels investment fund, and the Belgian government fears that the initiative violates international law and that it will have to pay the price. "It would be absurd if Belgium alone had to repay €140 billion," said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

However, the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, has assured that, even if there is no clear agreement on this matter, the Member States will ask the European Commission to present a legislative proposal that provides for the use of this Russian money and that includes legal guarantees that responsibility will not only lie with Belgium, but globally. In fact, at the last summit of EU heads of state and government in Copenhagen, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, already promised that she would officially raise this measure. The plan is for it to be approved before the end of the year, with the money disbursed early next year.

France comes to the defense of the European military industry

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, a debate has recurred in the European Union: where to buy weapons? This time, with the money from Russian funds that the European bloc intends to send to Kiev, France has once again come to the defense of European industry, and diplomatic sources indicate that Paris advocates requiring that the weapons Ukraine buys with this aid be European and not, for example, American.

On the other hand, other member states, historically more Atlanticist—especially in military matters—and less protectionist, such as Germany and the Netherlands, believe that this is not the most important issue right now. "The priority is to help Ukraine so it can defend itself against Russia," emphasize diplomatic sources opposed to the requirement that Emmanuel Macron has put on the table. Another debate that divides the Franco-German axis and has partially marked this Thursday's European summit.