Mar 11, 2022: EU leaders have condemned Russia’s “unspeakable suffering” inflicted on Ukraine, but rejected calls for Kyiv to join the bloc as soon as possible as they met to urgently address the fallout of Moscow’s assault on its neighbour.

The Russian invasion – the largest attack on a European state since World War II – has affected Europe’s security order and prompted EU capitals to reconsider what the bloc should stand for, and its economic, defence and energy policies.

The European Union (EU) on February 24 offered to impose sanctions and provide Ukraine with political and humanitarian aid, as well as some weapons, in the days following the Russian invasion. However, cracks have appeared in the bloc’s united front, from its reaction to Kyiv’s demand for an accelerated membership of the group to how fast it can wean itself off Russian fossil fuels and how best to shape an economic response.

“Nobody entered the European Union overnight,” Croatia Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said, as talks among the 27 national leaders ended in the early hours on Friday.

European Council President Charles Michel said, in a show of sympathy and moral support: “Ukraine belongs to the European family.”

“There is no fast-track process,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a prominent opponent of EU enlargement, while adding the bloc would continue deepening ties with Kyiv.

“I want to focus on what can we do for Volodymyr Zelenskyy tonight, tomorrow, and EU accession of Ukraine is something for the long term – if at all,” he said.

French President Macron said, “Can we open a membership procedure with a country at war? I don’t think so. Can we shut the door and say: ‘never’? It would be unfair. Can we forget about the balance points in that region? Let’s be cautious.”

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa says, “there are those who think that … Ukrainians are fighting for their lives and (deserve) a strong political message … and those who are still debating the procedures,”

Some EU leaders have called for tougher sanctions that could hurt Russia’s oil and gas industries, even if it means damaging European countries that rely on Russian fossil fuels. The European Union imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia with Germany, Europe’s largest economy, especially depending on energy flows, along with Italy and many Central European countries.

Russia also accounts for a quarter of the EU’s oil imports.

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz has not commented on whether the bloc should ban Russian oil imports, which Berlin has so far rejected. Russia supplies about a third of Germany’s gas and crude oil needs.

Since Russia’s invasion of its pro-EU neighbour, bloc members have approved a total of half a billion euros in defence aid to Ukraine.

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