Putin betting EU unity on Ukraine to fracture: EU Borrell
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EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is warning that keeping the 27 member states united was a task to be carried out "day by day," and urges unanimous consent over sanctions over Russia.
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EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Brussels on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022 (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin is betting the shared EU response to the war in Ukraine will fracture when the soaring prices hit the wallets of the European voters, EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Tuesday.
Borrell said in an interview with AFP that Putin sees "the weariness of the Europeans and the reluctance of their citizens to bear the consequences of support for Ukraine".
"We will have to endure, spread the costs within the EU," Borrell said, warning that keeping the 27 member states united was a task to be carried out "day by day".
Borrell will be hosting meetings of EU foreign and defense ministers in Prague next week, hoping to strengthen what has so far been a noticeably united diplomatic front against Russia.
The EU member states have agreed on a series of sanctions packages targeting Russia and sectors of the economy, including key oil exports. However, energy prices and inflation are now soaring and several member states, including Germany, face the prospect of deep recessions.
Borrell: Must give Ukraine support that goes beyond supplying weapons
Some are reluctant to take further measures that would have bad impacts on their own economies out of fear that voters' support for Ukraine might not survive winter power cuts and soaring gas bills.
Borrell has to maintain the united front and will propose an EU military training mission for Ukrainian forces, like the one backed by Britain and Canada.
"We must give Ukraine support that goes beyond supplying weapons. Faced with someone who refuses to stop the war, we must be able to resist," he said.
But he knows that making the EU nations all happy will not be easy.
"The member states are masters of their foreign policy. We must ensure that their interests reach a common point. We are always in compromise mode," Borrell said.
Borrell: We must continue pressure through sanctions, reconstitute the Ukrainian forces
Europe is a big market and trading bloc, and the EU economic sanctions can hit opponents hard, but decisions on sanctions must be taken by unanimous consent. This means that one single member, such as Russia's ally Hungary, can delay or derail joint measures. Also, if a pro-Ukrainian coalition such as Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Finland want to ban Russian visitors, they would need the support of more cautious members.
"We seek a European solution in the first place because it is the most sustainable and legally correct," Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Tuesday, adding, "If we don't reach one, we do not rule out the possibility of looking for a regional solution."
Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz had reservations about a visa ban, and Borrell was cautious, suggesting targeted bans on the pro-Putin elite.
"I believe that to ban all Russians from entry into Europe, always and whatever the motive, is not a good idea. We have to be more selective, but of course, to the oligarchs, nothing," he said.
"Vladimir Putin remains inflexible. We must continue the pressure through the sanctions and reconstitute the Ukrainian forces," Borrell said.
"The war is taking a new turn. The Ukrainians have gone on the offensive."
