The Ukrainian President is therefore completing his express tour of Europe via Brussels, speech before the deputies of the European Parliament, participation in the summit of the 27 Heads of State and he is not necessarily looking for the same thing there as during his trips to London and Paris.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s priority, as we have understood, is to obtain weapons: ammunition, artillery, planes. He therefore repeated it in front of parliamentarians and European heads of state. But he knows very well that this subject does not depend on Europe, which is not a military power. This subject, it depends on Washington first, and in Europe, on London, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw. It was therefore the subject of the trips on Wednesday, February 8. The visit to Brussels on Thursday follows a different logic. Volodymyr Zelensky knows that the European Union is first and foremost an economic power. It is therefore on this ground that he expects the 27.
According to our information, he came before the Heads of State in the afternoon, with a shopping list concerning the new sanctions that the Union is preparing to adopt against Russia. A 10th round of sanctions is being prepared. And kyiv wants certain specific Russian companies to be targeted: for example in the diamond trade or in the nuclear energy sector. One thinks of the company Rosatom, the Russian federal agency for atomic energy, which is also the world leader in the construction of nuclear power plants. Except that Rosatom, to build its power plants, buys its turbines elsewhere, for example in France. And this subject has, until now, been sidelined by the sanctions.
The desire for a “fast track” for accession to Europe
The second subject of these talks in Brussels, the timetable for accession to the European Union. The principle of Ukraine’s accession to Europe has been in place since last summer. But what Volodymyr Zelensky wants is an accelerated procedure, a fast track, as we say, in English, in the vocabulary of Brussels. These accession procedures are generally very slow: 10, 20 years.
The objective displayed by Volodymyr Zelensky is three years: 2026. Because he wants to give hope to the 40 million Ukrainians, a quick and visible horizon. And because he also uses this process and European requirements politically to justify himself the acceleration of his fight against corruption, the oligarchs and to initiate a reform of justice in the country. Except that this “fast track” arouses reluctance, especially in Paris. Where it is observed, not without reason, that Ukraine cannot overtake the other candidates, Moldova, its small neighbor with impunity. And especially the Balkan countries, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia: so many countries where Russia would hasten to take advantage of any disillusionment with Europe.
A 10-point peace plan
There is a third subject on the table in Brussels, it is a peace plan and it has gone relatively unnoticed so far. In recent days, Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled a 10-point peace plan. At first, the Europeans only paid distracted attention to it. But they have changed their minds and are now watching the subject carefully. Of course, Volodymyr Zelensky foresees there the restoration of the complete territorial integrity of Ukraine (including Crimea), an unthinkable point for Moscow at this stage. So we’re way off.
But this plan has the merit of opening up a channel of discussion, of asserting that kyiv does not want war indefinitely. And to propose another idea that could gain ground: a major international conference on a global security architecture in Europe. For once, that joins the concern of Paris: it will be necessary, in the long term, security guarantees for kyiv, but also for Moscow, to avoid sowing the seeds of another future conflict.