European Council in Prague: Should the EU step up its game?

In Prague, demands for German tanks for the Ukraine are being raised again. Chancellor Scholz is in the crossfire mainly because of another issue: the huge relief package in the energy crisis.

Dhe Czechs had a special surprise in store for Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday on Friday. More than 11,000 private donors raised a good 1.3 million euros to buy a modernized T-72 tank from a private company. However, he is extradited to Kyiv, not to Moscow. Defense Minister Jana Cernochova joked that it was a “appropriate gift”; she had supported the crowdfunding initiative.

It was the humorous side of a day when heads of state and government had serious business to discuss in the Czech capital. With the Russian mobilization and annexations on the one hand, and the Ukrainian reconquests on the other, the war entered a new phase. Both sides have upped the ante – should the EU do the same? When the bosses pulled up in front of Prague Castle in the morning, demonstrators held up a sign. “Western tanks for Ukraine” read it. Roberta Metsola, who, as President of the European Parliament, is allowed to speak for half an hour at the beginning of each Council, echoed the same trumpet: “Ukraine needs heavy weapons and it needs tanks,” she said. If Russia escalates the war and becomes increasingly “desperate,” it must respond in the same way. They specifically demanded German Leopard 2 tanks. The day before, the Strasbourg parliament had almost unanimously called on the member states to massively increase their military aid, “especially in the areas requested by the Ukrainian government”.