Macron's readiness to speak to Putin "an excellent concept": EU Council former president Charles Michel - Speaking Europe

[ad_1] As FRANCE 24 covers one other grim milestone in Ukraine – 4 years of full-scale warfare – Speaking Europe hosts the previous president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, who was within the job when that geopolitical earthquake struck the European continent on February 24, 2022. We additionally convey you a particular characteristic, “Ukraine: Europe on the entrance line”, concerning the EU’s wide-ranging help for Ukraine, by our reporter Mélina Huet.

Talking of February 24, 2022, Charles Michel remembers, “The night time when this full-scale invasion began, I had a telephone name with Zelensky. He advised me that there have been (Russian) assaults in every single place. A couple of hours later, we had a gathering in Brussels with the 27 heads of state and authorities. And I managed to have Volodymyr Zelensky with us by video convention. It was a horrible second as a result of, in reality, we did not want to speak to one another. Each chief across the desk, all of us had the identical emotions. All of us understood that this second was a sport changer for the way forward for the European continent. And we have been additionally conscious that it was extraordinarily vital to make daring selections to help Ukraine.”

What does Charles Michel consider President Macron’s latest comment that it will be “helpful” for him and the Europeans to start out speaking on to President Putin once more?

“That is an excellent concept, as a result of what's going on right this moment is an actual drawback for the EU,” Michel solutions. “It is not regular that the European Union shouldn't be on the desk. And if you're not on the desk, you're on the menu. It implies that no-one is defending our curiosity. We have now noticed that President Trump, very quickly after his inauguration, made the selection to present legitimacy to Vladimir Putin and to launch these talks with Putin. We have now to do extra to be masters of our future. That is about safety. That is about defence. That is concerning the many years to return. We should be on the desk.”

We ask Charles Michel who must be put ahead as an EU envoy in any potential direct talks with the Kremlin.

“There are numerous choices, however I feel that probably the most highly effective possibility can be for the European Council to present a mandate, as a result of it is the physique with the very best legitimacy, with the 27 heads of state authorities,” Michel replies. “It may very well be a mandate to Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, to be within the talks – with a powerful mission; the defence of the European curiosity. You understand, it’s very unusual; we're highly effective from the financial perspective. We're highly effective from the navy perspective. It’s very clear right this moment that we're a very powerful supporter of Ukraine when it comes to monetary help, and when it comes to navy help. We should be extra self-confident, I feel.”