Global Courant
GENEVA
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated on Thursday, ahead of the NATO summit in Lithuania, that Ukraine’s accession to the alliance “is out of the question until the end of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine”.
Scholz, in his speech in the German parliament Bundestag, said that the Ukrainian government also expressed this.
“That’s why I’m campaigning for us to focus on what now has absolute priority in Vilnius, namely strengthening Ukraine’s real combat capability,” Scholz said. said.
The NATO summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, in mid-July will focus on how to bring Ukraine closer to NATO and what security guarantees can be given to the country after the war is over.
The Chancellor has once again pledged support to Ukraine as long as it is needed. He pointed out that Germany’s civil and military aid has now reached 16.8 billion euros ($18.4 billion).
He also pointed out that Germany will meet NATO’s defense spending target of 2% of gross domestic product “from next year”.
He said Germany will continue to focus its arms shipments on armored combat vehicles, air defense systems, artillery and necessary ammunition. In this way, Germany is providing exactly what Ukraine needs most urgently in the ongoing offensive to liberate its territory.
Sweden’s NATO target
Scholz also spoke in favor of Sweden’s rapid accession to NATO. “He was absolutely convinced that Sweden should sit at the summit table as a new ally alongside Finland,” Scholz said.
He called on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to pave the way for this as soon as possible. He added that this was agreed upon jointly at the NATO summit in Madrid last year.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched war on Ukraine in February 2022.
A tripartite memorandum signed at a NATO summit between Turkey, Finland and Sweden in June last year stipulates that the Baltic states will not support the PKK’s Syrian arm, the YPG/PYD or the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). He is behind the coup d’etat defeated in Turkey in 2016.
Although Turkey approves Finland’s membership, it expects Sweden to fulfill its commitments under the agreement.
Many foreign ministers hope that Turkey will approve Sweden’s bid for membership ahead of next month’s NATO summit.
A new Swedish anti-terrorism law went into effect on 1 June, allowing authorities to prosecute people who support terrorist groups.
However, Erdogan made it clear that if Turkey is expected to respond to Stockholm’s NATO accession expectations, Sweden should also do its part on the PKK terrorist organization before the summit.
EU asylum reforms
Scholz, in a statement from the government, also defended Europe’s plans for asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders. “This is a historic agreement because it shows that the EU can overcome its differences on even the most controversial issues,” he said.
The Chancellor added: “Germany will also be relieved by such a new and fair system, because until now we have been the main target of the largely unmanaged internal migration in the Schengen area.”
EU countries voted in favor of comprehensive reform plans in early June. Asylum applications from immigrants from countries of origin with an acceptance rate of less than 20% will be examined at the EU’s external borders within 12 weeks.
During this time, those seeking protection are obliged to stay in tightly controlled reception facilities. Those who do not have a chance to seek asylum will be sent back immediately.
However, it is possible that the EU Parliament will still force changes. Scholz has called for an agreement to be reached with the European Parliament before next year’s European elections.
“Germany had to make concessions on this issue,” he said. “But it was the right thing to do in the name of Europe’s unity and ability to act,” Scholz added.
He added that the current system is not working. In the negotiations, the German government advocated exempting families with children from so-called border procedures.
Taiwan issue
In his speech, Scholz also demanded that the Chinese leadership refrain from using force near the South China Sea and Taiwan. “We absolutely reject any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas by force or coercion. This is especially true for Taiwan,” he said.
He also said this to Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a meeting in Berlin. Scholz emphasized that Germany and Western countries do not want to break away from China, but they want to reduce their dependencies.
“None of us want to hinder China’s economic development,” the chancellor said. He said China plays a decisive role, for example, in global food security, helping heavily indebted states, investing in future technologies, fighting poverty or fighting climate change.
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