Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Foreign Affairs Ministers met in Brussels today and discussed the Ukraine war, EU-US relations, the Middle East, Syria and Iran with EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.
The March 2025 Foreign Affairs Council approved €3.5 billion to Ukraine, discussed support to Syria and trade relations with the United States.
It was a very intensive Council,
\Kallas told the press.
The Ministers also condemned the politicization of humanitarian aid in the Middle East and, as they welcomed the Arab reconstruction plan for Gaza, they also emphasized that “It is very important for Europeans that Hamas has no future role in the rebuilding.”
Finally,
The regional destabilization and the military aid that Iran is giving to Russia are of great concern for us,
added Kallas.
Ministers also discussed the Iranian hostage policy and how to deal with it as a united front, meanwhile the nuclear program remains “the big question” on the table.
Further aid to Ukraine
The Foreign Affairs Council approved €3.5 billion to Ukraine today. This is the third disbursement of non-repayable grants and loans to support the macro-financial stability and recovery of the country.
The payment falls under the Ukraine Facility, an EU plan to support reforms and investments to support the county’s recovery and resilience and its path towards EU membership. The first payment in August 2024 was €4.2 billion, the second one (December 2024) amounted to €4.1 billion.
The Council concluded today that Ukraine has satisfied the conditions for a third payment, which required reforms to increase the use of renewable energy, simplifying border-crossing procedures, a strategy for agriculture and rural development and working on listing its strategic and critical raw materials.
Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and was granted candidate status in June 2022. Earlier this year EU Commissioner for Enlargement Kos welcomed the country’s efforts to meet the requirements while also stressing that the reforms have to be sustainable and that “no geopolitical discount” will be applied.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrij Sybiha joined the Council via videoconference.
Kallas on Russia: “They don’t really want peace”
High Representative Kallas commented that Russia doesn’t “seem to really want peace.” While Trump is expected to talk to Putin on Thursday and an update on a possible peace agreement is expected to come soon, the EU is determined to keep supporting Ukraine with military, financial and humanitarian aid.
“The genuine effort by President Trump to really achieve peace should not be misused by Putin to further weaken Ukraine and come back with aggression at some point in the near future,” said Elina Valtonen, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs.
At the press conference after the meeting, Kallas added that “Russia cannot be trusted” and that it is expected to present “all sorts of demands” for an agreement.
When asked about the role of the EU in this possible agreement, she replied there is “really shocking diplomacy” and no negotiation table, because Russia is not really sitting there yet.
EU to help Syria move “in the right direction”
Kallas also highlighted that current violence in the region is worrying, but the EU is still committed to keep helping Syria move “in the right direction.” This means continuing to lift sanctions and improving the services for people, such as banking services, to reduce the chaos that could lead to a civil war.
To prevent further violence, we have to give people in Syria hope,
said Kallas.
The lifting of sanctions continues to be conditional on the current leadership holding accountable those responsible for the violence and promoting inclusiveness in the government buildup process.
Later today, the Brussels Conference on Syria will expand on mobilizing international support for Syria and on providing assistance and ensuring a more peaceful transition. The Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani will attend.
EU-US trade relations
The last part of the Council was a working lunch discussion on EU-US relations.
Kallas told the press that the conversation focused on the tense trade relations and tariffs. EU Commissioner for trade and economic security Maroš Šefčovič briefed the Ministers on the current situation and “it is important that we are all on the same page,” added the High Representative.
