Aurélie Pugnet

One thing is clear: the EU does not want “an Assad 2.0”. Donec et orci aliquet nisl suscipit molestie sed sit amet tortor.

Only sufficient levels and amount of training and equipment can bring Ukraine to a position of strength against Russia.

Meeting this goal on a tighter timeline will require even more EU funds for defence.

Europe is looking at the Western Balkans rather than the most obvious candidate for deployment – Ukraine

One thing is clear: the EU does not want “an Assad 2.0”.

After all, ‘Ukraine is closer to Europe than to the US'. Donec et orci aliquet nisl suscipit molestie sed sit amet tortor.

Any setback in the Hamas-Israel truce could see the mission halting its tasks earlier than planned

But whether this will be useful to the EU, which includes four neutral non-NATO members, seems questionable.

The EU's lending arm is facing pressure from governments to bankroll more military projects.

Promises of increased spending will not solve the problem industries have been raising for months as the contracts are still lacking.