From the first evening of the conflict, the Twenty-Seven took sanctions against Moscow. The first of a long series. A decision prepared for several weeks which franceinfo reveals to you behind the scenes.
At twenty-seven, everything takes time. When we know the slowness of the cogs of the European Union, criticized including by the member states, it seems surprising that Brussels managed to announce a series of sanctions against Russia from the first day of the invasion of Ukraine. , February 24, 2022. “Usually it takes several weeks for the European Council to prepare such measures”, which must be decided unanimously, recognizes Philippe Léglise-Costa, permanent representative of France to the EU. This time, the Twenty-Seven have nevertheless agreed “in twelve hours”. So how did they manage to react so quickly?
>> One year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, discover our great visual narrative to understand how the war took hold in Europe
In reality, this response is the result of much more than a day of negotiations. From January 2022, potential sanctions against Russia “are the subject of discreet discussions” within the EU, reveals Philippe Léglise-Costa. For several months now, the American and European intelligence services have been warning of Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine. “We have worked on a contingency plan to provide military support to kyiv in the event of aggression, but without entering into conflict with Moscow and risking precipitating the planet into a third world war”, we relate on the side of the Elysée.
“We have thought about very tough economic and financial measures, in order to drastically increase the cost for Russia of a potential war.”
The Presidency of the Republicat franceinfo
These preparations seem all the more necessary as Ukraine is also getting ready for battle. When she went there in early February, MEP Nathalie Loiseau (RenewEurope) notes that checkpoints have already been set up in the streets of Mariupol. Military convoys continue to circulate across the country. “Without being told clearly, we had the feeling that the Ukrainian army was preparing for bombardments, and putting its strategic equipment under cover”details the former Minister of European Affairs.
The words of a military leader, met in the Donbass, leave him little doubt about the imminence of an attack. “I told him ‘See you soon’ and he replied: ‘If I’m still alive…’.” On her return to France, Nathalie Loiseau sends a long note to Emmanuel Macron. “I left wondering why Putin would attack Ukraine. I came back wondering what would stop him.”
“Putin thought we would be paralyzed by fear”
In the midst of the French presidency of the European Union, the Head of State is increasing telephone conversations with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts, in the hope of de-escalation. The self-determination referendums of several regions of Donbass, controlled by pro-Russian separatists, are changing the situation. Three days before the start of the offensive, Monday February 21, the Kremlin announces that it recognizes the independence of the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk. “We considered that Moscow was thus putting its mechanism in place to justify the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine”reports the Presidency of the Republic.
This announcement pushes the European Council to organize an emergency summit in Brussels. The date is set for February 24. Coincidence of the calendar? It is precisely this Thursday that Vladimir Putin chooses to launch his “special operation”. Shortly before 5 a.m., the Russian president delivered a televised address from a Moscow office. Dark wood paneling, a flag in the background, telephones at hand… The style is quasi-Soviet. Rhetoric too. Vladimir Putin says he is deploying his army to “denazify” Ukraine and protect the integrity of his country.
As the first Russian tanks cross the border, the phones of European officials start ringing. The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Council, Charles Michel, and the head of diplomacy, Josep Borell, are warned at dawn. “Although we have been preparing for this eventuality for weeks, the return of war to the European continent remains a shock”, admits a senior Commission official. But the EU “quickly puts itself in working order”.
“Ursula von der Leyen was Minister of Defense in Germany, she knows these subjects well. It seemed obvious to her that the EU should be at the forefront of the response to the Russian invasion, because of our geographical position as well as our role as a privileged partner of Ukraine.”
A senior official of the European Commissionat franceinfo
Throughout the day, the leaders chained speeches to condemn the Russian aggression. Even the Hungarian Viktor Orban, although close to the Kremlin, publicly condemns it. “We will coordinate within the EU, NATO and the G7 and we will implement the full package of the toughest sanctions” against Moscow, for its part threatens the German government of Olaf Scholz.
This European unity displayed alongside Ukraine is not unprecedented: since 2014, the Twenty-Seven have systematically approved and renewed the sanctions in response to the annexation of Crimea by Russia. But “this did not necessarily mark a deeper consensus between the 27 on relations with Russia”shade Philippe Léglise-Costa. “Vladimir Putin thought we were going to be paralyzed by fear and internal dissension, therefore unable to react to the invasion”, agrees a senior official of the Commission. “It was essential to show him that he was seriously mistaken.”
“We wanted to avoid an endless discussion on words”
At midday, a joint statement by European Heads of State and Government is released. Then immediate aid to Ukraine is organized: funds are released for humanitarian aid, experts are responsible for assisting Kiev in the face of numerous Russian cyberattacks, the Frontex agency is mobilized to prepare for the influx of refugees.
In parallel, several emergency meetings are organized with the G7 and NATO, to agree on “a list of sanctions to be adopted on the same day”, specifies the Elysée. The details of these measures are drawn up by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), and submitted to the various capitals ahead of the European Council summit. “We wanted to avoid an endless discussion on words, while we were facing a war”explains Philippe Léglise-Costa.
/2023/02/17/63ef7b2c81ec0_000-323v7v3.jpg)
The meeting opens with a speech by Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president, by videoconference from his command center, lists his needs: strong measures against Moscow and military support. As expected, the Twenty-Seven respond favorably to the first request and immediately adopt sanctions against Russia. But the summit continues late into the night, while European heads of state and government discuss the consequences of the war on energy prices and grain supplies. The issue of supplying arms and ammunition to kyiv is also discussed. “We would be stepping outside the EU’s usual scope of action”, deciphers Philippe Léglise-Costa.
“Several leaders took the floor to talk about Russia, even the Soviet Union, for those who had known it. It was like a summation of the collective memories of the former Eastern bloc, in order to talk about what this return to war on our continent meant.”
Philippe Léglise-Costa, Permanent Representative of France to the EUat franceinfo
The need to strengthen the sovereignty of the Twenty-Seven, particularly on the military level, emerges from these exchanges. “We do not yet realize the extent of the transformations that the war in Ukraine has triggered: for years, European defense has been the subject of talk, but not enough progress”, recalls MEP Nathalie Loiseau. Philippe Léglise-Costa shares this sentiment. “This Thursday, February 24, the EU laid the foundations for its response to the conflit, but also an acceleration of the construction of strategic sovereignty”, believes the permanent representative of France in Brussels.
These developments, for example on the common purchase of ammunition, are proving to be long to implement, tempers Le Monde (article reserved for subscribers). But the progress is already notable, argues Philippe Léglise-Costa: “On the first day of the war, the Europeans were almost surprised themselves to be so united and prepared to face such an event.”