The Council is close to signing off the €90bn loan for Ukraine. This Q&A (by Christian Bissinger, Jakob @lewander.bsky.social and me) tells you all you need to know about "EU Foreign Policy via Enhanced Cooperation": sieps.se/en/publicati...
Ukraine’s public finances are close to collapse, and the EU is unable to finalise the €90 billion loan. In a recent webinar, @dittebrasso.bsky.social, @ilketoygur.bsky.social and @vkreilinger.bsky.social discussed various ways forward.
A recording is now available: sieps.se/en/seminars/...
It was a great pleasure to discuss overcoming unanimity in the EU with @dittebrasso.bsky.social, @ilketoygur.bsky.social and @lewander.bsky.social at the webinar "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?" The recording is available on the SIEPS website: sieps.se/en/seminars/...
📍 @dittebrasso.bsky.social, Deputy Director of Tænketanken EUROPA in Copenhagen, and
📍 @ilketoygur.bsky.social, Director of the Global Policy Center and Professor of European Politics at the IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs in Madrid
will join @lewander.bsky.social and me.
2/2
🇪🇺 🇺🇦 We will discuss one of the most thorny issues of the recent European Council meeting, "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?", on Friday, 27 March, from 10:00 to 11:15👇
sieps.se/en/seminars/...
1/2
📣 Join us on Friday, 27 March, from 10:00 to 11:15, for a discussion on overcoming unanimity at the webinar "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?" @sieps.bsky.social
👇
Join our @sieps.bsky.social webinar on Friday 27/3 with @dittebrasso.bsky.social, @ilketoygur.bsky.social, and @vkreilinger.bsky.social to discuss the EU's foreign and security policy predicament of trying to govern without agreeing sieps.se/en/seminars/...
Not a good look for the credibility of the EU.
Additionally, conclusions on Ukraine at 26 without Hungary have been the norm for a while. This is the second time after December 2025 that Slovakia also did not sign the Ukraine conclusions, emphasizing the structural rift of now an EU-25 vs 2.
📙 The Emergency Union: The EU’s rising use of Article 122, by @dittebrasso.bsky.social and Rasmus Egmont Foss: thinkeuropa.dk/en/brief/202...
📘 Article 122 TFEU: The legal workaround to freeze Russian assets and possible repercussions, by me: sieps.se/en/publicati...
We will have four papers to draw on (a forthcoming one by Ilke and the three published ones):
📗 EU Foreign Policy via Enhanced Cooperation: Questions and answers on the EU24 loan to Ukraine, by Christian Maurice Bissinger, @lewander.bsky.social and me: sieps.se/en/publicati...
for a discussion about decision-making under pressure, enhanced cooperation and its institutional implications, Coalitions of the Willing, EU foreign policy actorness, dealing with dissent in the context of the stalled €90 billion loan to Ukraine, the previous immobilizing of the Russian assets.
.@lewander.bsky.social and I will welcome
📍 @dittebrasso.bsky.social, Deputy Director of
@thinktankeuropa.bsky.social in Copenhagen
📍 @ilketoygur.bsky.social, Director of the Global Policy Center and Professor of European Politics at the IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs in Madrid
📣 Join us on Friday, 27 March, from 10:00 to 11:15, for a discussion on overcoming unanimity at the webinar "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?" @sieps.bsky.social
👇
📙 The Emergency Union: The EU’s rising use of Article 122, by Ditte Brasso Sørensen and Rasmus Egmont Foss: thinkeuropa.dk/en/brief/202...
📘 Article 122 TFEU: The legal workaround to freeze Russian assets and possible repercussions, by me: sieps.se/en/publicati...
We will have four papers to draw on (a forthcoming one by İlke and the three published ones):
📗 EU Foreign Policy via Enhanced Cooperation: Questions and answers on the EU24 loan to Ukraine, by Christian Maurice Bissinger, @lewander.bsky.social and me: sieps.se/en/publicati...
decision-making under pressure, enhanced cooperation and its institutional implications, Coalitions of the Willing, EU foreign policy actorness, dealing with dissent in the context of the stalled €90 billion loan to Ukraine, the previous immobilizing of the Russian assets under Article 122 TFEU.
Jakob @lewander.bsky.social and I will welcome
📍 @dittebrasso.bsky.social, Deputy Director of @thinktankeuropa.bsky.social in Copenhagen, and
📍 İlke Toygür, Director of the IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs in Madrid
for a discussion about
Also interesting story that France „initially refused to provide sufficient information about what it would buy, citing security concerns, but has now done so“. Hungary still not approved by the Commission.
This is a bombshell. The Polish President vetoes #SAFE. Unexpected. Financially irresponsible: Poland would be able to fund military equipment with lower interest rates: www.ft.com/content/da80...
🇦🇹
Yes, the question is from where in the respective national capital the power the Permanent Representatives receive their instructions. And leaders also distrust each other, so they like to keep some decisions away from Council and #EUCO, to push items through by QMV in Coreper with written procedure
The most prominent recent example is freezing the Russian Central Bank assets with Article 122 TFEU (sieps.se/media/ndzouh...), also decided by Coreper – "in the EU's diplomatic bunker" as @gabrielgavin.bsky.social wrote in today’s Brussels Playbook: www.politico.eu/newsletter/b...
Finally some media reporting about the rise of the rise of #COREPER. I have long argued that this (in particular the increased used of the "written procedure") is a very significant development that has intensified since the pandemic (sieps.se/media/mnah1q...).
My key quotes and takeaways from the #MSC2026 speeches by four European leaders 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 (Merz, Macron, von der Leyen, Starmer) across four major themes (🏰 ⚔️ 🪖 💶):
➡️ #Starmer announced that “we are prepared to explore innovative solutions. So we are stepping up work with like-minded allies on options for a collective approach to defence financing, to help accelerate this vital investment.”
It’s a wonderful innovation.”
➡️ According to
#vonderLeyen, “[w]ith our SAFE programme, we are investing in the capabilities we need. […] We have remained relentless and creative in the way we maintain our support for Ukraine. This includes most recently with our EUR 90 billion loan […].”
