EU leaders meet to assess Russia, NATO and migration crisis

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky are the key figures at a European Union summit underway in Brussels this Thursday, highlighting the importance of protecting the EU's eastern flank from Russian aggression and bolstering support for Tunisia to combat illegal migration across the Mediterranean.

The Wagner mutiny in Russia has upended the agenda at the EU summit in Brussels. AFP - FREDERICK FLORIN

Zelensky is to address the gathering by video link and Stoltenberg will have an early lunch at the EU leaders' summit in the European capital, but the biggest seat will be set aside for an item that is not officially on the agenda: the fallout from the stunning weekend mutiny in Russia.

Officials from several member states and EU institutions said the chaos and instability created by the Wagner mercenary group's rebellion would not only force the EU to double down on its support for Ukraine with commitments for more ammunition but also intensify efforts to make sure fighting and violence does not spill over into the bloc itself. 

• Wagner chief to leave Russia in deal to ease crisis

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has underlined: “There is no room for hesitation. We must continue to increase the price of Russian aggression.”

Within the EU, some are saying that the effects of the revolt reach right into the Kremlin.

German Chancellor Olof Scholz has remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been significantly weakened by the mutiny, with EU leaders recognising the impact of 11 sets of sanctions that Europe has imposed on Moscow in conjunction with the United States as key.

#EUCO | On the EU leaders' agenda today:
📌 Ukraine
📌 economy
📌 security and defence
📌 migration
📌 external relations

More info 👇

— EU Council (@EUCouncil) June 29, 2023

Ukraine aid, Russian assets

As most EU countries are members of NATO, they will look to give Ukraine more security guarantees, if stopping short of full NATO membership.

That approach for more support for Kyiv is expected to be fully endorsed by the time the two-day summit ends.

EU nations have also been providing billions in aid both to bolster military supplies and to make sure Ukraine's economy stays afloat.

• EU and Western allies commit to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction

The Brussels summit will also look more closely to what extent Russia's frozen assets from the central bank – estimated at some €200 billion – can be used for that.

Several countries fear the legal grounds for such a move is precarious and the European Central Bank has warned that confiscating Russian assets could pose a serious risk to the reputation of the euro.

Some countries reportedly want to impose an additional windfall levy on the money to use for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

PM @MorawieckiM in #Bratislava: The #V4 countries have risen to the occasion regarding the reception of war refugees. That is why today, the topic that unites us is also the approach to #migration. We stress that the external borders of the EU should be protected. pic.twitter.com/JhOC0nnBqr

— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) June 26, 2023

Frontex reform 

Meanwhile, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is presenting a plan for strengthening the European Union's borders, bringing the reform of the Frontex border agency into the spotlight. 

EU leaders will also be looking at ways to help Tunisia stem migrant boat departures for Europe.

This comes two weeks after a boat believed to have been carrying hundreds of migrants capsized off Greece in one of the worst such tragedies in years.

At least 82 people died and many more remain missing in the sinking, which occurred in unclear circumstances. 

Amnesty International and other rights groups say the tragedy resulted from Brussels' "Fortress Europe" policy – implemented over the past seven years – since experiencing a huge inflow of Syrian war refugees.

Earlier this month, European Union countries reached agreement on a long-stalled revision of the bloc's asylum rules, that aims to share the burden of hosting asylum seekers across EU countries.

Poland and Hungary – which were outvoted on the plan – have come out strongly against the accord and intend to have it discussed at the Brussels summit. 

• EU offers Tunisia massive aid deal to reduce migration and boost economy

Aid for Tunisia

Brussels is seeking to extend a tactic it used with Turkey in 2016, which worked to greatly reduce irregular migration flows to Europe in exchange for six billion euros in assistance.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently offered Tunisia more than one billion euros – €900 million in long-term aid plus €150 million immediately – if it meets International Monetary Fund conditions for an IMF loan worth nearly €2 billion.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has said Paris wants to see the IMF deal sealed with Tunisia "because it's in the interest of that country, which is a close country and a friendly one".

France has separately announced €26 million in aid to Tunisia to help curb irregular migration across the Mediterranean.