Tag: belgium

Belgian and Dutch students protest against Israel’s war on Gaza | Israel War on Gaza News

Students in Belgium and the Netherlands have joined the wave of protests around the world against Israel’s war on Gaza.

The protesters occupied parts of the universities of Ghent and Amsterdam on Monday, joining international student demonstrations that started on US campuses.

At the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in the centre of the city, hundreds of students set up a camp, pitching tents, playing in drum circles, and barricading access with wooden pallets.

The students want UvA and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) to end their partnerships with Israeli institutions.

A UvA spokesperson said that while it condoned the protest during the day, it will not tolerate students staying the night.

“If students decide to spend the night, we will report it to the police”, he said.

In neighbouring Belgium, some 100 students occupied part of Ghent University (UGent).

Footage shared on social media shows students surrounded by tents chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, the occupation has to go” in one university building.

Several UGent employees and professors have signed an open letter supporting the protest and condemning the university’s decision to continue research collaboration with Israel.

“UGent never gives permission to occupy buildings, but if this happens, a general framework of agreements applies,” rector Rik Van de Walle said in a statement. He added that UGent subjects universities with which it collaborates to a human rights investigation.

The Ghent University students said the protest would last until Wednesday, May 8.

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Belgium says will probe suspected Russian interference in European polls | Politics News

Belgian intelligence claims Russia has been paying members of European Parliament to expand its influence network.

Prosecutors in Belgium are investigating suspected Russian interference in upcoming European Parliament elections with the goal of affecting Ukraine policy, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has said.

Belgian intelligence has confirmed the existence of pro-Russia influence networks across multiple European countries, including in Belgium, he said on Friday.

As part of an influence operation in the Czech Republic, whose officials De Croo said Belgium is working closely with, Russia allegedly approached members of the European Parliament and offered them money to promote pro-Russian sentiment.

“According to our intelligence service, the objectives of Moscow are very clear. The objective is to help elect more pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament and to reinforce a certain pro-Russian narrative in that institution,” De Croo told reporters.

He did not say which individuals or entities might be under suspicion. No cash payment had taken place in Belgium itself although pro-Russian interference was going on, he added.

The prime minister said that “the goal is very clear: a weakened European support for Ukraine serves Russia on the battlefield and that is the real aim of what has been uncovered in the last weeks”.

The allegations will be discussed next week at a summit of European Union leaders.

Europewide polls are scheduled to be held on June 6-9 to elect a new parliament.

The EU has been ramping up its financial and military backing of Ukraine more than two years after Russia’s invasion.

The bloc greenlit a 50 billion euro ($54bn) plan to support Ukraine for the next four years at the start of February.

Russia has ramped up its attacks this year, especially on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Russian ground forces have been making advances and fierce battles are ongoing across multiple areas, including Avdiivka and Bakhmut.

The Belgian prime minister said on Friday that the Russian efforts to expand its influence in EU members raises “serious concerns” that require action.

“We cannot allow this type of Russian menace in our midst. We need to act, and we need to act both on the national level and we also need to act on the EU level.”

De Croo said he had asked for an urgent meeting of the bloc’s Agency for Criminal and Justice Cooperation (EuroJust), and suggested that the antifraud office OLAF should prosecute the case.

“We have a responsibility and our responsibility is to uphold that every citizen’s right to a free and safe vote can be maintained.”

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European Parliament passes asylum and migration reforms | European Union News

Non-governmental organisations (NGO) have criticised the package for undermining human rights.

The European Parliament has approved a landmark overhaul of the European Union’s asylum and migration rules.

The parliament’s main political groups overcame opposition from far-right and far-left parties to pass the new migration and asylum pact – a sweeping reform nearly a decade in the making.

“History made” parliament president Roberta Metsola posted on X on Wednesday following the passage of all 10 parts of the migration and asylum pact.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the new rules a “historic, indispensable step” for the EU.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the bloc “will be able to better protect our external borders, the vulnerable and refugees, swiftly return those not eligible to stay” and introduce “mandatory solidarity” between member states.

Outside the Brussels parliament building, dozens of demonstrators protested against the vote, echoing criticism from more than 160 migrant charities and non-governmental organisations.

In a sign of the fierce opposition, the start of voting was interrupted by protesters in the public gallery yelling, “This pact kills – vote no!” until the chamber was brought to order.

The legislation requires all EU member states to take some form of responsibility for managing asylum applications.

If an EU country does not want to accept people applying for asylum, then that member state must give alternative assistance like financial contributions to a support fund.

Also, EU member states experiencing significant spikes in applications for asylum may call for the applicants to be distributed to other EU countries.

The most controversial part of the package involves establishing border facilities in the EU to host asylum seekers and screen and quickly send back applicants found not to be ineligible.

Non-governmental organisations (NGO) have criticised the package for undermining human rights and fear the border facilities will lay the ground for systematic detention.

Damien Careme, a lawmaker from the left-wing Greens group, said the legislation was “a pact with the devil”.

Far-right lawmakers complained the overhaul did not go far enough to block access to irregular migrants.

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Angry farmers block Brussels to protest EU policies, cheap Ukraine imports | Protests News

Farmers threw beets, sprayed manure at police and set hay alight in Brussels as hundreds of tractors sealed off streets close to the European Union headquarters, where agriculture ministers sought to ease a crisis that has led to months of protests across the 27-member bloc.

The farmers on Tuesday protested against what they see as excessive red tape and unfair trading practices as well as increased environmental measures and cheap imports from Ukraine. “Let us make a living from our profession,” read one billboard on a tractor blocking a main thoroughfare littered with potatoes, eggs and manure.

As the protests turned violent, police used tear gas and water cannon to keep the farmers and some 250 tractors at bay, even as ministers met to push through measures meant to calm the crisis. Authorities asked commuters to stay out of Brussels and work from home as much as possible.

Several farmers, police and firefighters suffered injuries, but none was life-threatening. The government lambasted the farmers for failing to contain violent elements that threw e-bikes off a bridge and set the entry to a subway station aflame.

With protests taking place from Finland to Greece, Poland and Ireland, the farmers have already won concessions from EU and national authorities, from a loosening of controls on farms to a weakening of pesticide and environmental rules.

A major plan to better protect nature in the bloc and fight climate change was indefinitely postponed on Monday, underscoring how the protests have had a deep influence on politics.

EU member states on Tuesday gave their provisional approval to proposals that amount to weakening or cutting rules in areas like crop rotation, soil cover protection and tillage methods. Small farmers, representing about two-thirds of the workforce and the most active in the protest movement, will be exempt from some controls and penalties.

The EU parliament is expected to decide on the proposals in late April.

Environmentalists and climate activists say a change in EU policies under pressure from farmers is regrettable, warning that short-term concessions will come to haunt the bloc in a generation when climate change will hit the continent even harder.

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Flag of NATO’s 32nd member, Sweden, raised at alliance’s headquarters | News

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson preside over flag-raising ceremony in Brussels.

Sweden’s flag has been raised at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, marking the country’s entry into the military alliance two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg looked on as two soldiers on Monday raised the blue banner emblazoned with a yellow cross among the official circle of national flags at the transatlantic grouping’s offices in the Belgian capital.

Ahead of the flag-hoisting ceremony held in the rain, Kristersson said expectations were “high”.

“We have chosen you, and you have chosen us. All for one, and one for all,” the prime minister said, adding that his country was a “proud” member and pledging that it would uphold the values enshrined in NATO’s founding Washington Treaty.

“The security situation in our region has not been this serious since the Second World War, and Russia will stay a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for a foreseeable future,” Kristersson said.

For his part, Stoltenberg said Sweden becoming the alliance’s 32nd member shows Russian President Vladimir Putin “failed” in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening it.

“When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less NATO and more control over his neighbours. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Ukraine is “closer to NATO than ever before”.

The ceremony came as 20,000 troops from 13 countries began NATO drills in the high north of Sweden as well as its neighbours Finland and Norway.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 prompted Sweden and Finland, which shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia, to end years of military nonalignment and apply to join the United States-led alliance.

While Finland joined in April 2023, Sweden’s adhesion to NATO took close to two years as Turkey and Hungary held up the process that requires the unanimous support of all members.

The Turkish parliament gave its formal consent in January and Hungary’s came last week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday labelled the accession a “historic moment for Sweden, for our alliance and for the transatlantic relationship”.

“Good things come to those who wait,” Blinken said as he received Sweden’s accession documents in Washington, DC.

The members of NATO have lent their military and financial support to Ukraine in its fightback against Russian forces, but momentum is slowing as US political will fractures and Europe struggles to meet the Ukrainian ammunition needs.

Sweden brings to the table well-trained and equipped armed forces. It also adds cutting-edge submarines and a sizeable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to NATO forces and would be a crucial link between the Atlantic and Baltic.

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Photos: Farmers clash with police near the European Union headquarters | Agriculture News

Farmers have clashed with police in Belgium, spraying officers with liquid manure and setting fire to piles of tyres in a fresh show of force as European Union agriculture ministers met in search of ways to address their concerns.

Brussels police said that 900 tractors had entered the city of Brussels, many bearing down on the European Council building where the ministers were meeting.

Smoke drifted through the air near where police in riot gear used water cannons to defend the EU’s headquarters from behind concrete barriers and barbed wire.

The farmers are protesting against red tape and competition from cheap imports from countries where the EU’s relatively high standards do not have to be met. They lined up scores of tractors down main roads leading to the city’s European Quarter, snarling traffic and blocking public transport.

A few tractors forced their way through one barrier, sending officers scurrying.

Some are lamenting what they see as the slow death of working the land. “Agriculture. As a child you dream of it, as an adult you die of it,” said one.

At the start of the month, a similar demonstration turned violent as farmers torched hay bales and threw eggs and firecrackers at police near a summit of EU leaders.

The protests are the latest in a series of rallies and demonstrations by farmers across Europe.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with boos and whistles at the opening of the Paris Agricultural Show by farmers who claim that he’s not doing enough to support them. Spain, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have been hit by protests in recent weeks.

The movement has gathered pace as political parties campaign for Europe-wide elections on June 6-9. It’s already had results. Earlier this month, the EU’s executive branch shelved an anti-pesticide proposal in a concession to the farmers, who comprise an important voting constituency.

On the other side of the barriers in Brussels, the ministers were keen to show they’re listening.

The EU presidency, currently held by Belgium, acknowledged that the farmers’ concerns include the burden of respecting environmental policies, a drop in assistance from the bloc’s agricultural subsidy system and the impact of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s grain supplies.

“We hear, clearly, their complaints,” said David Clarinval, Belgium’s agriculture minister. Still, he urged the protesters to refrain from violence. “We can understand that some are in difficult circumstances, but aggression has never been a source for solutions.”

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Which countries have stopped supplying arms to Israel? | Israel War on Gaza News

EXPLAINER

As civilian casualties continue to mount in Gaza, global calls for countries to halt arms sales to Israel grow.

The United States Senate has approved a bill committing $14bn to support Israel’s war on Gaza this week.

Even before the start of the war last October, the US firmly supported Israel with the supply of military equipment, contributing $3bn annually in military aid. Many other countries provide military support to Israel via arms sales.

Civilian casualties continue to mount in Gaza – currently standing at more than 28,000 dead with thousands more trapped under rubble and presumed dead in just four months of bombardment and ground invasions. The rising death toll is prompting international condemnation from humanitarian and civil society groups in the form of statements, protests and lawsuits filed against countries alleged to be providing military support to Israel. Some countries are responding to this pressure.

On Monday, the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, commented on US President Joe Biden’s description of Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attacks as “over the top”. “Well, if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many people being killed,” Borrell told reporters.

So which countries continue to send weapons to Israel and which are taking steps to suspend supply?

Who supplies arms to Israel?

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfers database, 68 percent of Israel’s weapons imports between 2013 and 2022 came from the US.

The US military also stockpiles weapons on the ground in Israel, presumably for use by the US army itself. However, the US has allowed Israel to make use of some of these supplies during the Gaza war.

Besides the US, Israel also receives military imports from other nations.

  • Weapons imported from Germany make up 28 percent of Israel’s military imports. Germany’s military exports rose nearly tenfold in 2023 compared with 2022 after it increased sales to Israel in November, according to figures from the German Economic Ministry. Germany primarily supplies Israel with components for air defence systems and communications equipment, according to the German press agency dpa.
  • The United Kingdom has licensed at least 474 million pounds ($594m) in military exports to Israel since 2015, Human Rights Watch reported in December 2023. These exports included aircraft, missiles, tanks, technology and ammunition, including components for the F-35 stealth bomber used in Gaza.
  • In Canada, dozens of civil society groups have recently urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end arms exports to Israel. The government says it does not send full weapons systems to Israel, but these civil society groups claim it is downplaying the amount of military support it provides. “Canadian companies have exported over $84m [114 million Canadian dollars] in military goods to Israel since 2015,” said Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, an advocacy group, adding that the government has continued to approve arms exports since the start of the war.
  • Australia’s foreign affairs minister has said the country has not provided weapons to Israel since the start of the war. However, The Australian Greens party’s defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, has asked for the government to be more transparent about exactly what items have been exported to Israel, adding that the country has one of the most secretive weapons export systems in the world. Amnesty International has also called on Australia to halt arms sales to Israel and claims the country has approved 322 defence exports to Israel over the past six years.
  • In France, a pro-Palestine demonstration on February 7 called on French companies, including Dassault Aviation, to stop selling arms to Israel. Demonstrators said, according to the Anadolu news agency, “all French companies that sell arms to the Tel Aviv administration are complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.
Demonstrators condemn Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, near the southern port city of Limassol, Cyprus, January 14, 2024. Lawyers say weapons sales to Israel could render other countries ‘complicit’ in war crimes in Gaza [Petros Karadjias/AP Photo]

Which countries are stopping arms supplies to Israel?

  • In the Netherlands, a court on Monday gave the government one week to block all exports of parts for the F-35 fighter jet, which Israel is using to bomb the Gaza Strip. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by Dutch humanitarian organisations Oxfam Novib, PAX Netherlands Peace Movement Foundation and The Rights Forum against the government. The concerns laid out in this lawsuit overlap with the issues the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is considering in South Africa’s apartheid case against Israel. “It is undeniable that there is a clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the court ruling stated.
  • In Belgium, a regional government said it suspended two licences for the export of gunpowder to Israel on February 6. It was reported that the regional government cited the ICJ interim ruling which found Israel may “plausibly” be committing genocide in Gaza.
  • Japanese company Itochu Corporation announced on February 5 that it will end its partnership with Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems by the end of February. Itochu chief financial officer Tsuyoshi Hachimura told a news conference that the suspension of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Elbit Systems was based on a request from Japan’s Ministry of Defense and “not in any way related to the current conflict between Israel and Palestine”. However, he added: “Taking into consideration the International Court of Justice’s order on January 26, and that the Japanese government supports the role of the Court, we have already suspended new activities related to the MOU, and plan to end the MOU by the end of February.”
  • Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on January 20 that Italy had suspended all shipments of weapons systems or military material to Israel since the outbreak of the war on October 7. This was in response to Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein’s calls on the government to halt the supply of weapons to Israel.
  • Spain’s foreign minister said in January the country has not sold any arms to Israel since the start of the war and that there is now an embargo on weapon sales. However, on Monday, the Spanish daily El Diario released a report showing that Spain had exported ammunition worth about $1.1m to Israel in November. Spain’s secretary of state for trade justified selling the ammo, telling El Diario that the “material was for tests or demonstrations” and “corresponds to licences granted before October 7″.

What role has the ICJ ruling played in halting arms sales?

In its interim ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel on January 26, the ICJ stated that Israel is “plausibly” committing genocide in Gaza and ordered it to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts that could amount to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This has spurred humanitarian organisations around the world to pressure their governments to halt sales of arms and military aid.

The ruling “goes beyond Israel” alone, said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Washington, DC-based think tank Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). The interim ruling highlights the legal and political obligations of countries to prevent genocide. Advocates say weapons sales and military aid could be deemed to amount to complicity in genocide and be in violation of international law.

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Roman Abramovich loses legal attempt to overturn EU sanctions | Russia-Ukraine war News

The EU imposed punishment on the oligarch in 2022 as part of measures targeting Russia and Putin’s close allies.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has lost a legal challenge aimed at overturning European Union sanctions imposed on him in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich had filed a lawsuit at the EU’s general court against the European Union Council, which imposed punitive sanctions on the 57-year-old in 2022 as part of measures targeting Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s close allies after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The court in Brussels rejected the challenge and also dismissed his claims for compensation, noting his role in the Russian steel company Evraz and the fact that steel provided a major source of revenue to the Russian government.

“The General Court dismisses the action brought by Mr Abramovich, thereby upholding the restrictive measures taken against him,” it said in its ruling on Wednesday.

“The [European] Council did not in fact err in its assessment by deciding to include, then maintain, Mr Abramovich’s name on the lists at issue, in the light of his role in the Evraz group and, in particular, its parent company,” it added, referring to the sanctions lists.

Chelsea sale

Abramovich, who also holds Israeli citizenship and is a former owner of Premier League football club Chelsea, became one of the world’s most powerful businessmen after the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. Forbes estimates his net worth at $9.2bn.

In a statement issued on his behalf, Abramovich said he was disappointed by the ruling, which he can appeal.

He said the court had not considered some of the arguments used by the EU Council, including the proposition that Abramovich had benefitted from the Russian government – which he said was a false suggestion.

“Mr Abramovich does not have the ability to influence the decision-making of any government, including Russia, and has in no way benefited from the [Ukraine] war,” the statement said.

“The court’s decision to maintain the sanctions against Mr Abramovich was based purely on the court defining Mr Abramovich as a ‘Russian businessman’ which under today’s very broad EU regulations is sufficient to remain sanctioned, even if you are just a passive shareholder in a business sector with no connection to the war.”

The businessman has also been punished in the United Kingdom and had his assets frozen in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea after being sanctioned by the British government for what it called his enabling of Putin’s “brutal and barbaric invasion” of Ukraine. The sale of the Premier League club for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2bn) — then the highest price ever paid for a sports team — was completed by a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.

It marked the end of the trophy-filled, 19-year tenure of Abramovich.

The EU has imposed 12 rounds of sanctions on Russia since Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine almost two years ago. The measures have targeted the energy sector, banks, companies and markets, and made more than 1,000 Russian officials subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

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Ireland’s prime minister urges EU leaders to call for Gaza ceasefire | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says there is ‘some truth’ to accusations that EU employs a double-standard on Gaza.

A growing number of countries in the European Union have expressed support for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war as Israel’s assault on Gaza plunges the Palestinian territory into a dire humanitarian crisis.

In remarks on Tuesday at an EU summit focused largely on Ukraine, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged his colleagues to take a firmer stance and call for an end to the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“I think the European Union has lost credibility because of our inability to take a stronger and more united position on Israel and Palestine,” Varadkar said.

“We’ve lost credibility at the Global South, which actually is most of the world, because of what is perceived to be double standards. And there’s some truth in that, quite frankly.”

Before the summit, Varadkar and the prime ministers of Spain, Belgium, and Malta wrote to European Council President Charles Michel asking him to host a “serious debate” about the Israel-Hamas war and the “humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.”

“We must call urgently for all the parties to declare a lasting humanitarian cease-fire that can lead to an end of hostilities,” the four leaders wrote.

The comments came several days after a large majority of nations represented at the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and the number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza passed 18,000, most of them women and children. The resolution passed with 153 nations in support, 23 abstaining, and 10 voting against it.

In Tuesday’s UN vote, 17 EU countries were among those that backed the call for a ceasefire. In October, only eight had backed a resolution calling for a truce.

Varadkar insisted that a ceasefire could lead “to a new peace process and Palestinian statehood, which is the only way to secure justice and security for everyone living in the region.”

Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, backed his Irish colleague.

“Europe has to speak out … in a clear, strong, firm and unified voice,” he said.

The current round of fighting began on October 7 when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 others captive.

Israel responded with a devastating assault on Gaza, bombarding the territory and launching a ground offensive, claiming that it seeks to topple Hamas.

The Hamas attack was widely condemned, and Israel received strong international backing for its war against Hamas from the United States and several European countries.

But as the Israeli assault continued, leading to dire humanitarian conditions and displacing more than 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, some allies have tempered their support with growing warnings about the toll on civilians.

Western countries have also been accused of employing a double-standard, chastising Russia for violations of international law during its invasion of Ukraine but relatively muted when faced with similar acts by Israel.

Speaking on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said that Israel risks losing support due to “indiscriminate bombing” in a rare moment of sharp criticism.

But despite mounting international pressure, Israel has shown no signs of scaling down its fighting in Gaza, where UN officials have described conditions as “hell on earth”.

On Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that the fighting in Gaza would last “more than several months”.

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NATO ministers talk Russia-Ukraine war, Kosovo unrest at Brussels summit | NATO News

NATO’s chief urges allies to continue supporting Ukraine amid funding hold-ups in the US and Europe.

Foreign ministers of NATO countries have assembled in Brussels for security talks as Russia presses ahead in its war against Ukraine and Israel enters the fifth day of a fragile truce with Palestinian group Hamas.

The Russia-Ukraine war appeared to top the agenda of the two-day summit which began on Tuesday, as NATO’s chief urged allies to continue supporting the war-wracked country amid funding hold-ups in Washington and Europe.

“I’m confident that the United States will continue to provide support because it is in the security interest of the United States to do so and it’s also in line with what we have agreed,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

“I urge allies, and allies are also committed to continue to deliver support,” he added.

Some $61bn in proposed US aid to Ukraine is being held up by the US Congress, while another $50bn package from the European Union is struggling to pass due to opposition from Hungary.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Brussels, said the funding delays show indications of “fatigue” from some NATO members 21 months into the war.

Ukraine’s top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba will try to overcome such fatigue and lobby for continued NATO backing when he joins the summit on Wednesday.

Kuleba will also work with NATO ministers to outline a plan for reforms aimed at helping Ukraine gain eventual membership in the security alliance.

Russia has said NATO expansionism is at the core of its grudge against bordering Ukraine, which it has repeatedly warned not to join the alliance.

More than 500,000 troops from Russia and Ukraine are estimated to have been killed or wounded since Moscow marched troops across its neighbour’s border in February 2022.

At least 10,000 civilians have also been killed in the conflict, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has said.

Broader regional security

Apart from the Russia-Ukraine war, NATO ministers also planned to discuss Russia’s “destabilising actions” throughout the region, including allegations it has been enabling undocumented migrants to reach neighbouring Finland.

Finland last week closed nearly all its border crossings with Russia after it said an influx of migrants arrived at its border with Russia.

Another topic on the agenda will be unrest between Serbia and Kosovo, where NATO has in recent months deployed more troops to reinforce its peacekeeping force following an attack on Kosovo police.

The ministers are also likely to address the seven-week war between Israel and Hamas, though it is not officially on the agenda.

Al Jazeera’s Vaessen said the ministers would discuss “not only the extension of the ceasefire [between Israel and Hamas] but a future for Gaza after the war is finished”.

Sweden’s membership bid

Hanging in the background of the summit is the membership status of Sweden, which has been awaiting ratification from Turkey and Hungary for 18 months.

Stoltenberg on Tuesday told Hungarian media he expected the two countries to approve Sweden’s membership bid without further delay, but gave no precise timeline.

The Turkish parliament started this month to debate Sweden’s bid to join after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the process following a deal at a NATO summit in July.

Erdogan had delayed the ratification process over longstanding complaints Sweden is failing to act against Kurdish armed groups in its country that Turkey considers “terrorist” groups.

NATO’s other allies had hoped to formally welcome Sweden into the alliance at its Brussels summit, but Turkey’s ratification process is still at the committee level in parliament.

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