Laurence Boone, Secretary of State in charge of Europe was the guest of the 8:30 a.m. france info this Wednesday, October 5, 2022. She answered questions from Salhia Brakhlia and Marc Fauvelle.
War in Ukraine: “The next emergency is to train the troops”
“The Ukrainians asked us: the weapons are sophisticated, they need us to train new troops”, announced Laurence Boone about the support of European countries for kyiv. This training will take place in neighboring countries of Ukraine, “like Poland for example”. The subject will be discussed at the next Council of Foreign Ministers in Brussels. “We hope to have an agreement on October 17 on this,” she said.
Annexations by Russia: “an 8th sanctions package is under discussion”
At the next Council of Foreign Ministers, there will also be a question of a new section of sanctions. The eighth since the start of the war, in February 2022. A component that follows the annexations of four Ukrainian regions by Moscow, “to punish the organizers of these sham referendums, to punish the propagandists, to punish the new soldiers”.
Russian deserters: visas “will be issued on a case-by-case basis”
Faced with the counter-offensive led by kyiv in eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin decided to mobilize civilians, pushing many Russians to flee their country and join the European Union. “We have restricted the conditions of access to visas. Visas are determined on a case-by-case basis, including taking into account security risks. For dissidents, we will do the same”underlined the Secretary of State in charge of Europe.
Energy crisis: European strategic stocks filled “very strongly”
“We ensure the supply, we have stocks that are very full: 80%, 98% in France”, assures Laurence Boone. However, these stocks will not be enough to fight against rising prices. “We are going to ask everyone for solidarity. We are going to seek the rents of those who produce electricity at low cost and who can resell it at high cost to finance all the shields”she added. “We are going to ask for an exceptional contribution from energy companies that extract fossil fuels and refine them”she added.
At the European level, it is planned to help the countries most affected by the rise in energy prices thanks to the loan taken out during the health crisis. “We can indeed study a reallocation for countries which have a lot of manufacturing companies, which use gas and for which it is very expensive. Of the 750 billion [d’euros] borrowed, there are about 200 left that have not been affected”.
Repression in Iran: sanctions “to come”
The Twenty-Seven are currently preparing sanctions against Iranian officials, “against all those who are responsible for this violence”, confirms Laurence Boone. The discussions are underway, but they should be similar to those applied against the Russians, such as “the freezing of assets or the ban on travel to the EU”.
Access to abortion: “It’s terrible”, this law passed in Hungary
In Hungary, a law was passed by the government of Viktor Orban requiring women to listen to the heart of the fetus before carrying out a voluntary termination of pregnancy. “It’s terrible, I don’t know a woman who aborts with joy of heart. We are not here to sanction or penalize women. Abortion is a right”.
FIFA World Cup in Qatar: “We need a reflection”
Several French cities have announced a boycott of the next Football World Cup, due to the non-respect of human rights in Qatar but also environmental issues. If Laurence Boone does not answer the question of the diplomatic representation of France during the competition, she admits “it takes some thinking”. “We have football stadiums with air conditioning, it requires a lot of people to take the plane. Yes, you have to ask yourself if everyone should go there”she said.
Find the entire “8:30 franceinfo” of Wednesday, October 5, 2022: