Thread by @EURACTIV

🔴 LIVEBLOG | #NATO #G7 #EUCO

Follow our liveblog for the latest updates on the three summits taking place in Brussels today. ⤵️
euractiv.com/section/europe…

@NATO leaders are meeting from 10:00 CET this morning to agree on additional support for #Ukraine 🇺🇦, which will also include protective equipment against a potential use of chemical and nuclear weapons in the country, writes @alex_owski.

#Russia's invasion of #Ukraine has created “the most serious security crisis in a generation,” @jensstoltenberg tells reporters upon arrival, adding that “there is a new sense of urgency.”

By @alex_owski

🇪🇪 PM @kajakallas defiant upon arrival at @NATO HQ: "We need to strengthen the Eastern Flank, especially in the Baltic countries, because we can't have this plan to defend the country alone and then be liberated afterwards."

By @alex_owski

Speaking ahead of the summit, NATO’s @jensstoltenberg said alliance leaders will address China’s role and call on Beijing to condemn Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine, reports @alex_owski.

“I expect @NATO to call on #China to live up to its responsibilities,” Stoltenberg said.

“@NATO is not an engaged party in this war, and we will remain not engaged in this war, but we’ll do anything to weaken the Russian Federation,” 🇧🇪 PM @alexanderdecroo said.

@alex_owski reports.

"Nobody can feel safe now," 🇱🇹 President @GitanasNauseda tells reporters upon arriving at #NATO summit.

Nauseda stresses increased defence spending and ramped up NATO presence on the Eastern Flank as the crucial two points for the summit, @alex_owski reports.

[1/3] Many leaders arriving at @NATO HQ are asked by reporters about the possibility of #Russia using chemical/biological weapons.

However, all of them avoid specifying "red lines" for such an eventuality, reports @alex_owski.

[2/3]🇬🇧PM @BorisJohnson says Vladimir #Putin “has already crossed a red line into barbarism”.

🇸🇮 PM @JJansaSDS says he does not believe Moscow would move to deliberately use them in #Ukraine but warns of the potential risk to allies as being "serious" if this would be to happen.

[3/3] 🇱🇺 PM @Xavier_Bettel said it would be “dangerous” for #Putin to consider their potential use.

#NATO leaders are expected to agree to boost the alliance’s military presence in Eastern Europe with four new battlegroups in 🇧🇬,🇭🇺, 🇷🇴 & 🇸🇰, reports @alex_owski.

🇸🇰 President @ZuzanaCaputova said she would be “very glad” about the new force being established in her country.

Will @NATO leaders offer another year to @jensstoltenberg?

A successor has been expected to be introduced at a NATO leaders’ summit in June. But with war at Europe’s doorstep, some leaders would be keen to see the Norwegian’s term extended for another year, writes @alex_owski.

European Commission President @vonderleyen will meet with @POTUS separately on Friday morning, reports @alex_owski.

https://twitter.com/MamerEric/status/1506905304671399941

Although @NATO has made clear it will not send any alliance troops to #Ukraine, Poland keeps insisting on the idea of an international 'peacekeeping mission'.

🇵🇱 President @AndrzejDuda said he will present the idea at the summit, but did not give more details.

✍️@alex_owski

🇷🇴President @KlausIohannis welcomed NATO’s decision to set up a battle group in Romania but said his country has to do more.

“Sure, the battle group is a very good start, but in my opinion, there is still a need to strengthen #NATO’s position on the Eastern flank,” he said.

"We have to make it clear that it is unacceptable and that it has to be met with very serious consequences," 🇳🇴PM @jonasgahrstore said about the Russian invasion of #Ukraine as he arrived in the #NATO headquarters.

✍️ Charles Szumski

Answering questions from Norwegian news outlets, PM @jonasgahrstore added: "The most important here is to show that @NATO is united."

[1/2] One of the lesser known topics on the EU leaders’ agenda later on Thursday is the protracted political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Serb leader Milorad #Dodik is threatening secession.

The push to put BiH on the agenda came from Croatia, @VMakszimov writes.

[2/2] According to one EU diplomat familiar with #Zagreb’s aims, Croatia wants a “united message from the Council to all #BiH politicians about the need to quickly finalise electoral reform, while eliminating all forms of inequality or discrimination”.

Even though @POTUS is in town, many in Brussels see the #Ukraine crisis as a wake-up call to beef up Europe’s own capabilities, writes @VMakszimov.

“Europe must learn to defend itself economically, energetically and militarily" EU Commissioner @PaoloGentiloni told @Corriere.

The influential 🇩🇪 industry association @Der_BDI has warned against being too hasty with sanctions, particularly on #energy.

The BDI's president Siegfried Russwurm cautioned against "hasty reactions with incalculable consequences" when deciding on #sanctions, writes @NKurmayer.

#NATO officials say the leaders’ summit is running about an hour behind schedule after a late start, including a press conference by @NATO Secretary-General @jensstoltenberg, initially planned for 13:15 CET.

It will likely impact other schedules.

✍️@alex_owski

https://twitter.com/kapstory/status/1506930178576076804

[1/2]🇧🇬 PM @KirilPetkov was asked by the Bulgarian press if he was going to expel the Russian ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova, who had made insulting comments about him on Wednesday.

[2/2] On Monday, she said in an interview with #Russia 24 TV that "the Bulgarian people do not support either the rhetoric or the government's actions against Russia with regard to the special operation in #Ukraine".

✍️@GeorgiGotev

According to information from government circles in Berlin, today's G7 summit will have 🇩🇪 pushing for additional aid to #Ukraine and its neighbouring countries, especially #Moldova, which is struggling to handle the influx of wartime refugees.

By @NKurmayer.

"Right now, #Russia doesn't want to sit and negotiate anything: what it wants is to occupy the ground," EU’s chief diplomat @JosepBorrellF said.

The EU and its allies will keep on delivering military aid to the Ukrainian army, Borrell said.

@alex_owski reports.

[1/2] UK PM @BorisJohnson, who had ruffled some feathers with his comparison of #Brexit to the ongoing war on Ukraine, had not received an invite to the EU leaders' summit, as @benfox83 reported.⤵️
euractiv.com/section/politi…

[2/2] @BorisJohnson may have gotten some satisfaction instead by announcing a new comprehensive aid package for #Ukraine, writes @NKurmayer.

https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1506963626871164931

[1/2] As 🇺🇸 President Joe Biden is in Brussels, he carries a contentious issue from the Trump era, the US’ fracked liquefied gas (#LNG), writes @NKurmayer.

[2/2] Likened to “Freedom gas,” its sales pitch of lessening dependence on Russian imports had long been ineffective. US #LNG may become crucial to bridging the gap should #Gazprom’s gas stop flowing, but the pricier gas will hit wallets and carbon budgets.

✍️@NKurmayer

🇫🇷 President @EmmanuelMacron met this morning with 🇹🇷President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports @MathieuPollet_.

They agreed on “constancy and close coordination between allies”.

🇺🇦President @ZelenskyyUa via video link called on #NATO to provide ‘unrestricted’ military aid, thanking alliance members for the support they have already provided, but said it was not enough, reports @alex_owski.

As already anticipated, #NATO leaders extended the term of Secretary-General @jensstoltenberg for a year, until 30 September 2023.

https://twitter.com/jensstoltenberg/status/1506980885140316163

The 🇩🇪 economy continues to subsidise the Russian war effort at upwards of €55 million per day as the war on Ukraine enters its fifth bloody week, reports
@NKurmayer.

EU leaders plan to accuse #Russia of “#WarCrimes,” taking a critical stand against the actions of Russian troops in #Ukraine, according to the latest draft of EU summit conclusions.

✍️@SarantisMich
#EUCO

#NATO's Secretary-General @jensstoltenberg says the alliances' message to #Beijing is "to refrain from supporting #Russia’s war effort,” reports @alex_owski.

“We are concerned by recent public comments by PRC officials and call on #China to cease amplifying the #Kremlin’s false narratives, in particular on the war and on NATO, and to promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” #NATO leaders say in their summit declaration.

#NATO's Supreme Allied Commander has activated the alliance's chemical, biological and radiological 'defence elements' out of concern that a possible chemical attack by #Russia could spill over #Ukraine's border into alliance territory.

Background here⤵️
euractiv.com/section/defenc…

According to data by environmental NGO CREA, 🇪🇺countries have sent €19 billion to #Russia since the start of the invasion on 24 February.

✍️@NKurmayer
crea.shinyapps.io/russia_counter/

[1/2] The #G7 leaders are expected to evaluate the success of their #sanctions, and to discuss how to proceed.

The sanctions are generally celebrated as a success in the EU, but their real effect is unclear. A case in point: the Russian ruble.

[2/2] While sanctions slapped on the Central Bank of #Russia sent the ruble plummeting, it has recovered substantially in recent days. The trend of the ruble vs euro exchange rate over the past 3 months is seen in the graph below.

✍️@JanosAmmann

#G7 leaders from are now starting their meeting on the sidelines in #NATO headquarters in Brussels, reports @alex_owski.

NATO’s Secretary-General @jensstoltenberg as well as @eucopresident Charles Michel will also sit at the table.

Regarding the new condition by #Russia that #gas could only be purchased in #rubles, 🇧🇬 PM @KirilPetkov said that this was a move to stop the downfall of the Russian currency and that even the announcement had slowed its free fall.

By @GeorgiGotev.

🇬🇷 PM @kmitsotakis has expressed hope that #Russia will not use #nuclear weapons against #Ukraine but urged the West to be ready.

“I hope that does not happen. But that does not mean we should not be prepared for this possibility,” he said.

By @SarantisMich.

As EU leaders start arriving in downtown Brussels for the #EUCO summit, opposition parties and industry leaders have been piling on the pressure to come up with solutions to the #energy price crisis.⤵️euractiv.com/section/politi…

🇱🇻 PM @krisjaniskarins expressed support for further energy #sanctions to isolate #Russia’s economy and cut off what he says is the primary source of income for the Russian government, reports @jamieholcomb_.

https://twitter.com/alex_owski/status/1507009053578342404

“If we want new #sanctions, we need to have them as a reaction to something,” said 🇱🇺 PM @Xavier_Bettel, displaying the classic rhetoric that there needs to be room to react to new developments in #Ukraine, should the current status quo of war be broken.

@NKurmayer reports.

“Whilst need to do everything to @ZelenskyyUa and his courageous team and his soldiers at the same time we also have to protect the world from an escalation which might take a form which we all don’t want,”🇳🇱 @MinPres said.

By @VMakszimov.

Asked about the prospect of a chemical attack by Russia, 🇫🇮 PM @MarinSanna remarked that "#Russia is capable of anything, they don't respect any international laws that they are actually committed to."

✍️@NKurmayer.

"From a military point of view, this is a big failure for #Russia (…) and since they cannot conquer the cities, they bomb the cities, killing innocent people, destroying everything,” EU's chief diplomat @JosepBorrellF said upon arrival at the #EUCO summit.

@alex_owski reports.

@POTUS announced further sanctions against #Russia in an anticipated statement on Twitter, targeting a large number of Russian lawmakers along with defence companies and other elites, reports @jamieholcomb_.

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1506986001176141836

A boycott of Russian energy would hurt the European economy very much, 🇧🇪 PM @alexanderdecroo said, arguing that #sanctions should not hurt the European economy more than #Russia.

@JanosAmmann raports.

EU summit is now scheduled to start at 17:00 CET, reports @alex_owski.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are calling on the EU "to prohibit the road freight transport," from and to #Russia and #Belarus, reports @alex_owski.

“We have to do everything we can to stop #Putin because he can’t win this war,” she said, adding that “his appetite grows while eating and this is dangerous for the peace and security of the world,” 🇪🇪 PM @kajakallas said.

@silvia_ellena3 reports.

One of 🇦🇹's main priorities at today's exchange with @POTUS will be to make sure that the Western Balkans are not forgotten, said Chancellor @karlnehammer.

He explained that the countries must be protected from efforts of 🇷🇺&🇨🇳to extend their sphere of influence.

By @NKurmayer

While Ireland is open to further #sanctions against #Russia, the EU also needs to ensure that the current ones are not circumvented. It is unacceptable that some countries are allowing the circumvention of the sanctions, said 🇮🇪 PM @MichealMartinTD.

@KiraTaylor15 reports.

New timing for the start of the summit was now set for 17:30 CET, since some #G7 leaders are still briefing on the other side of town at #NATO HQ, reports @alex_owski .

🇳🇴 PM @jonasgahrstore, of the Labour Party, has said that he is pleased that @jensstoltenberg will continue to serve as #NATO’s Secretary General, reports Charles Szumski.

More on that story here⤵️
euractiv.com/section/defenc…

"We call on #oil and #gas producing countries to act responsibly and increase supplies to international markets, and note that #OPEC has a key role to play in this," reads the conclusion of an extraordinary #G7 summit held in Brussels today.

✍️@NKurmayer

Lithuanian president @GitanasNauseda said the EU can use his country’s experience to reduce its reliance on energy resources from #Russia.

@silvia_ellena3 reports.