THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Reforming Europe in a time of war

The Conference on the Future of Europe 17 seven packages of sanctions adopted to date, some of which are unprecedented. At the same time, the volume of Official Development Assistance has increased, with the provision of economic and, indeed, military support, something that was not expected. This initially took the form solely of defensive weaponry but now encompasses the very latest armaments of every kind, including heli- copters and even airplanes. In the Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe and in the various Working Groups, there were calls for the greatest possible level of support for the Ukraine, and for increased sanctions. This situation high- lights the need to reform the political model of the EU, which necessarily entails treaty reform, to enable more agile decision-making, granting more competencies to the High Representative, and expanding the competen- cies of the EU. This brought the issues of the scope of reforms and the need to deepen the European project as a whole to the fore. It was clear that the invasion was not just an attack on Ukraine, which is an associate of the EU, but was also aimed at the EU as a whole: its values, its democracy, its lifestyle, its freedoms, its Rule of Law, the whole EU project, the welfare state, shared sovereignty. As a result, at the Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe, held on the following day, 12 March, I proposed the adoption of a joint declaration expressly condemning Russia’s aggression against the Ukraine, setting out the reasons noted above. However, despite broad support, for procedural reasons related to parlia- mentary practice, the declaration was not formalized, even though there was complete consensus and explicit agreement. Since the invasion, four more Plenaries have been held, on an almost fortnightly basis, with the fourth session taking place on 10–12 March, as the February Plenary had once again been postponed because the Citi- zens’ Panels had been unable to meet and were therefore unable to continue with their work. The atmosphere of the subsequent Plenaries (fifth, sixth and seventh) was completely different, with greater cohesion between all the members of the Conference on the Future of Europe, including the Polish representatives of all tendencies. Even the harshest critics of the process of advancing the EU softened their attitudes. The fifth Plenary took place on 24 and 25 March, and a first draft of the proposals in the Working Groups was drawn up. The sixth session occurred on 7 and 8 April, before the Easter holidays, and theWorking Groups presented their almost definitive conclusions, all of which were based on the Citizens’ Panels, as no other option was permitted. Finally, the seventh and last Plenary took place on 28–30 April, and draw up the final conclusions of the Plenary, which were approved on the 30th and submitted to the Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe for its consideration and approval. As a consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU’s role in global politics has grown. And this means that we need not only to consol- idate the political and diplomatic aspects of the EU but also to undertake a thoroughgoing reform in all aspects, something that requires a third European Convention to be held, strengthening the EU model on a more federal basis. It’s important to highlight the paradoxical situation that has arisen from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in which Ukraine has borne the individual bur- den of legitimate defence and the EU and its Member states have borne the collective burden. In particular, it is important to note the granting of Temporary Refugee Status in application of the 2011 Directive (automati- cally granting refugee status to more than eight million Ukrainians in various countries), the supply of humanitar- ian aid, and the fact that large numbers of war-wounded are being cared for in neighbouring countries. To which can be added both the support from civil society and the large-scale supply of armaments. Further support has been provided through the ap- plication and creation of the Reconstruction Fund and, above all, the most effective system has been the ap- plication of seven packages of economic and political sanctions, which have had the effect of gradually isolat-