EU summit in Versailles rules out Ukraine's quick accession

The heads of state and government of the EU, meeting at a summit in Versailles, on Thursday ruled out any rapid accession of Ukraine to the European Union, while opening the door to closer ties. The leaders of the 27 met to work out the economic and military responses to the shock of the Russian invasion. "Europe has changed under the impact of the pandemic, it will change faster and stronger under the impact of war", predicted French President Emmanuel Macron, who received his guests in the prestigious setting of the Château de Versailles. Campaigning for re-election, he currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.

Regarding Ukraine's accession, "there is no quick procedure", recalled Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, while kyiv submitted an application in the hope of joining it "without delay". "Can we now open an accession procedure with a country at war? I don't think so. Should we close the door and say never? It would be unfair", summed up Emanuel Macron.

Ukraine: UN Security Council meeting on biological weapons requested by Moscow

The UN Security Council will meet on Friday at 4:00 p.m. GMT urgently on the alleged manufacture of biological weapons in Ukraine, at the request of Moscow, whose credibility in the field of chemical weapons has been called into question by Washington and London. during a session on Syria. Russia accuses Washington and kyiv of managing laboratories intended to produce biological weapons in Ukraine, which has been denied by the two capitals. Moscow had already accused in 2018 the United States of secretly carrying out biological experiments in a laboratory in Georgia, another former Soviet republic which, like Ukraine, aims to join NATO and the European Union.

During a monthly meeting of the Security Council on the use of chemical weapons in Syria - a file still open and which continues to suffer from a lack of information from Damascus denounced by the UN. Washington and London both mentioned Ukraine. Since Wednesday, the United States and the United Kingdom have claimed that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine.

G7 calls on oil and gas producing countries to "increase deliveries"

The G7 countries have called on gas and oil producing countries to "increase their deliveries" to cope with rising energy prices and the risk of shortages linked to the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has "strong repercussions on the international energy markets", in particular "significant increases" in the prices of oil, gas and even coal, underline in a joint declaration the ministers of energy of the G7 countries following an extraordinary virtual meeting devoted to Ukraine. "We note with grave concern the burden this places on households, particularly low-income households, and on business and industry, particularly in European countries," the US ministers continued, from Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Canada.

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