The main topics that dominated the EU summit in Brussels were related to the conflict in Gaza, the continuation of military aid to Ukraine and de-escalation of tensions in northern Kosovo.
The top representatives of the European institutions made comments about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the bloc's future support for Ukraine. The leaders agreed that Israel has every right to retaliate against the brutal Hamas terror attack, but that does not mean civilians in the blockaded Gaza should not receive the humanitarian aid they need.
Simultaneous support for Ukraine and Israel
European Council President Charles Michel said the event was taking place in "difficult times" and that Israel was "within its right to defend itself in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law".
"We condemn Hamas and this brutal terrorist attack and we have discussed how to ensure that there will be humanitarian access." We believe that civilians must be protected at all times and everywhere," said Michel.
The head of the Council also said it was key for the EU to support Ukraine "for as long as necessary".
The bloc's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was accused of bias after he said in a scathing statement that Israel must respect international humanitarian law while carrying out its attacks on Hamas.
EC chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU executive was working on continuing aid to Ukraine, humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and migration management work. But, she said, "all of this needs funding."
EP President Roberta Mezzola said that Hamas must be stopped and all hostages released unconditionally." "Humanitarian aid must be enabled to alleviate the worst effects we are seeing on innocent civilians in Gaza. That is why in last week's European Parliament resolution we called for a humanitarian pause," Mezzola added.
"This should not distract us from Ukraine. That's what Putin would want. We must continue to help Ukraine militarily and financially", added the President of the EP.
Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia
Another dominant topic of today's meeting was the attempts by the leaders of the three largest economies in the bloc, as well as by Borel and Miroslav Lajcak (EU representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia - ed.), to mediate between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to smooth relations between their countries.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni gave information about the progress of the meetings with the Balkan leaders by stating:
"At the tripartite meeting with Macron and Scholz, we were busy talking about another critical scenario, the one between Serbia and Kosovo, and we are looking for a solution based on a very long work done mainly by Italy, Germany, France and the EU. We asked the two leaders to make progress on the agreements signed in recent years and months," added the head of the Italian executive."
Josep Borrell, who also met with Kurti and Vucic, said he asked them to fulfill the agreements in the framework of the dialogue on the normalization of relations under the auspices of the EU. The senior diplomat was referring to the treaty from Brussels and the annex to it, which was signed this year in Ohrid. The two documents provide for the establishment of the Association of Serbian Municipalities (ASO) in Northern Kosovo and the recognition of Kosovo by Belgrade.
Although there is still no official position from Pristina or Belgrade on what was discussed at these meetings, reactions have already come. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was among the first to react, praising Kurti for accepting the EU proposal as a "framework for the next negotiations".
Kurti and Vucic, however, as EU spokesman Peter Stano confirmed yesterday, will not meet.
Support for Bulgaria's Schengen membership
Bulgaria was represented at the meeting by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov. The Prime Minister met with the Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová. She highly appreciated Bulgaria's efforts to protect the external border of the European Union. According to her, this should also be taken into account by the other member states. The EC expects Dutch experts to visit our border area in the upcoming mission in November.
"You have our full support for Schengen. All the conditions for acceptance into the Schengen area have been met," said Jourová.
Denkov presented Bulgaria's arguments for our accession to the Schengen area at the meeting of the European Council, which is being held in the Belgian capital today and tomorrow. "Everyone sees and we hear comments from everywhere that the changes in the laws are going at a pace that corresponds to the most optimistic expectations, and with a quality that is good enough and corresponds to the expectations and requirements of the European Commission, the Venice Commission, the Basel Institute. So we are making progress," the Prime Minister emphasized to journalists today. The reforms that the government has undertaken are important not only because of our acceptance into Schengen. "These changes are necessary for the Bulgarians. We want a better justice system, better protection at the border, and we will have them," Academician Denkov was emphatic. /BGNES
