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Within days, Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved what had not been achieved for many decades, the European Union’s unity on buying and sending weapons to a war zone, and the restoration of transatlantic unity.
For years, the Russian president could remotely watch cases of divisions in the West, ranging from Britain’s exit from the EU in 2016, Hungary’s long-standing antipathy to the EU, and the rift created by the former president Donald Trump, who has not been fully overcome under the administration of President Joe Biden.
Mr. Putin may have seen the perfect moment for aggression against Ukraine, thinking that this could create further divisions in the West, with a war on the continent that would disrupt the diplomatic peace of all EU countries.
“Vladimir Putin thought he would destroy European unity, but he did just the opposite,” European Council President Charles Michel said in an interview with a small group of journalists on Monday.
“Cooperation is very strong,” he said. “This is required by the circumstances of history, which none of us could have imagined,” added Mr. Michel.
On Monday, President Biden led another videoconference with the EU, Britain and other Western leaders to strengthen a common package of tough sanctions and strengthen unity. Over the weekend, Brussels and Washington announced financial sanctions within minutes of each other, which targeted the Russian central bank, cutting Russia off from much of the international financial transaction system, SWIFT.
Together they closed their airspace to Russian aircraft and agreed on the list of Russian oligarchs against whom sanctions were imposed. Seeing the unity of the West, President Putin continued on Monday with the old anti-Western language used during the Cold War period by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
Focusing his anger on Washington, he described the Western allies as “satellites of the United States.”
“So it is fair to say that the entire Western bloc formed by the United States, according to their wishes, represents an empire of lies,” Putin said.
A unity of this magnitude did not exist between Western powers before President Putin made the decision to assemble troops on Russia’s border with Ukraine.
It was especially important to stay within the 27 EU countries, making detailed changes that were achieved with little disagreement.
“This is a crucial moment,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday in connection with the EU decision to “finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country under attack.”
It is the same European Union, based on a post-World War II peace project, that abandoned arms to establish economic cooperation that created a continent with unparalleled prosperity and wealth. It is the same European Union that received the Nobel Peace Prize 10 years ago for what it could have achieved without the use of weapons.
It was also the same bloc that for years has emphasized the values of what it calls soft power, diplomacy, aid and cultural exchanges, instead of the power of arms.
All this change in just one week. Now Mr Michel says: “There is no room for weakness and we have to show determination.”
The change has been more pronounced than anywhere else in Germany, the EU’s main economic power, but also a country that has been reluctant to invest heavily in military power, largely because of its militaristic past, which resulted in the horrors of war. of the Second World.
Germany has faced constant criticism in recent years for failing to meet NATO’s spending target of 2% of gross domestic product in the field of defense. However on Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would create a special fund of 100 billion euros for its armed forces and increase defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product “from now on, from per year ”.
Chancellor Scholz has also challenged Germany’s previous refusal to export weapons to conflict zones, pledging to send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine.
“If our world is different, then our policy must be different,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The major political turnaround was carried out by a government led by the center-left Social Democrats, often criticized for showing leniency towards Russia and the Green party, which has a pacifist legacy.
The world also changed for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was often seen as an autocrat leader of the EU, much like President Putin. For years, he has criticized the EU, been friends with the Russian president and was seen as someone who could break the bloc from within.
This was thought to be possible because EU sanctions against Russia require unanimity among the 27 member states. However, within days Hungary, like other EU countries, agreed to impose sanctions on Russia.
“I spoke immediately with Viktor Orban when we faced this new situation and I can tell you that it was less difficult than we expected to get the support of Hungary,” said European Council President Charles Michel.
However, now are the first days of the war and more difficult moments may come with even bigger decisions, especially since the Russian president and his circle have had many years to prepare for any eventuality.
“They have the ability to continue for some time despite the consequences they are suffering now,” said Amanda Paul of the European Policy Center. “So this means that the West will have to be very committed and very determined to keep up the pressure,” she added.
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