One Europe friendless For the first time in nearly a century, major powers have a large part of their future at stake a tense summitsomewhat hysterical in the streets of Brussels, as if in an apocalyptic atmosphere.
The Belgian capital woke up surrounded by hundreds of tractors. Some rocks flew, tractor drivers burned bales of straw and police pushed to contain them outside the summit’s security perimeter. However, they had no chance of blocking the meeting, despite producing some spectacular images.
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Europe against the Mercosur agreement: farmers clash with the police
The rest of the city was particularly alive on this Thursday morning discomfort the protest because it forced the suspension of traffic in a large part of the European quarter of Brussels and the suspension of bus routes. The city, home to the institutions of the European Union and NATO, is used to demonstrationsthat happen almost every day.
The European camp is protesting against trade agreements (such as the one now being finalized with Mercosur). Climate policy, which he sees as an attack and by the prices of its inputs and energy. Their protests appear to be politically profitable and the concessions they receive are far from their demands. Leaders have words for those who protest, however They hardly change their policies.
The European landscape feels mistreatedeven though the economic data is overwhelming. Your European market is protectedreceives tens of billions of euros in subsidies every year and exported 220 billion euros in 2024 an agricultural trade surplus of more than 30 billion euros. The numbers did not reassure some farmers, who did everything possible to disrupt the meeting.
The country protests and the heads of state and government listen to the protests in the Justius Lipsius building, the building where the European summits are taking place. The summit is tense because Europe is in a new geopolitical era and many leaders continue to internalize this The traditional Russian enemy is joined by the United States which for the first time sees Europe as an enemy and not an ally.
The summit must move forward the opportunity to use the more than 210,000 million euros in blocked Russian assets outside Russia, 140,000 of them in the Belgian company Euroclear, a clearing house through which more than 90% of the world’s financial transactions are processed. Belgium refuses because it fears Russian reprisals (and not just legal ones). Governments controlled by far-right parties such as the Hungarian, Slovakian, Czech or Italian parties are joining Belgium.
The European Commission is looking at alternatives, such as financing Ukraine through an issuance of European sovereign debt guaranteed by member states based on their relative economic weight in the union.
At the time of writing, there has been no agreement, and there likely won’t be an agreement this Thursday, and it will take a hell of a lot to push through on Friday. The Trump administration does not support the use of Russian assets, but Europe needs to fund Kiev because Ukrainians are running out of money in March.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said upon his arrival in Brussels that it would be better to provide financial support to Ukraine than to shed European blood. It refers to the fact that Russia would not be happy with taking over Ukraine and would try to take over more European countries.
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