Coalition of the willing summit to begin in Paris
A “Coalition of the Willing” summit begins today in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer host a summit on Ukraine following the EU summit in Brussels last week. The Coalition of the Willing is a block of countries committed to providing support to Ukraine. It includes 31 countries from the EU, NATO and other such as Canada, Japan and Australia. The coalition gained momentum after the US initiated talks with Russia.
Despite the US announcement for an agreed ceasefire in the Black Sea between Ukraine and Russia, many European countries remain cautious as security guarantees remain insufficient in light of recent drone attacks by Russia that continues to threaten Europe’s energy sector, and an erosion of NATO unity if the US continues to negotiated unilaterally with Russia.
In the short-term, expect the coalition to boost support to Ukraine, both in military aid, such as the EUR$ 2 billion pledge by France and the GBP$ 1.6 billion committed by the UK for air defense missiles, but also for Ukraine’s reconstruction and strengthening of trade routes. The summit is expected to furnish an agreement on each country’s commitments to Ukraine as well as presenting a peace treaty lead by France and the UK to the US. However, peacekeeping troops, previously discussed, are unlikely to be deployed in Ukraine. In the medium term, expect the coalition to harness the support of non EU countries, such as Canada to reduce dependency on security cooperation with the US. In the long term, expect the coalition to lay out a strategy for long-term support to Ukraine’s army as Europe’s first line of defense and as a crucial piece to the Strategic Autonomy of the EU.
