Macron, France's president, has long advocated for European autonomy. Putin is now receiving involuntary backing from the Kremlin's leader.
French President Emmanuel Macron's major buzzword is "European sovereignty." Europe's sovereignty has advanced significantly in the last two weeks. However, this situation is unfolding in a different way than Macron, whose nation has held the EU presidency for over two months, anticipated.
Before France's chief of state took over the EU's business as planned, he believed that at the Versailles summit, he would mostly discuss Europe's fresh economic start following the Corona crisis. But then Putin invaded Ukraine, and the summit is now almost entirely focused on Europe's response to the Kremlin chief's military aggression. So far, this response is outstanding. The sanctions, particularly the restriction on the assets of the Russian central bank, are reducing the sources of funding for Russia's war machine.
Unity on sanctions and refugee aid
The unanimity displayed by the 27 EU members in their judgments thus far is at least as stunning as the effect of the penalties. The welcome of women and children fleeing Ukraine's crisis also demonstrates that the EU can do things differently: in times of need, all nations, particularly Poland, are willing to take them in.
One should not overestimate the community's newfound togetherness. For example, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán does not want to know anything regarding weaponry transfers to Ukraine. When it comes to whether Russia's energy imports should be severely cut or banned entirely, Germany is putting the brakes on.
There might also be faster implementation of the "Green Deal"
However, there are two areas where Vladimir Putin may become an unhappy advocate of Macron's lauded European autonomy, or at least less reliance on Russia: bolstering Europe's defences and advocating the "Green Deal" that will phase out oil, coal, and gas.
The Kremlin's war on Ukraine has resulted in a realignment of military strategy in the majority of EU members. The chiefs of state and government want to commit to investing more money in the arms business at Versailles. In the near future, this will also reinforce the European component inside NATO, in line with Macron's wishes.
At the same time, Europe's over-reliance on Russian energy supply demonstrates that the community cannot afford to waste time creating wind power and hydrogen infrastructure. The EU governments will have to speed their efforts to meet their climate targets, which is also likely to be a result of the conflict.