European Council likely to admit Ukraine into its fold

Paris, March 12: The EU intends to achieve the suspension of Russia’s rights in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. “We will also work to suspend Russia’s membership rights in leading multilateral financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We will ensure that Russia cannot obtain financing, loans, or any other benefits from these institutions. Because Russia cannot grossly violate international law and, at the same time, expect to benefit from the privileges of being part of the international economic order,” the statement says. She also said, a new, fourth package of EU sanctions against Russia will be adopted on Saturday,. “Tomorrow, we will take a fourth package of measures to further isolate Russia and drain the resources it uses to finance this barbaric war,” she said. Von der Leyen indicated that these measures were aimed at ensuring that Russia had fewer resources to conduct a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine. EU leaders agreed to increase defense investment and strengthen coordination in the defense sector, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said following an informal European summit in France. “To defend Europe, we will need different forces and different capabilities. Significant additional defense investments in Europe will be needed and I welcome that some leaders have announced ambitious steps to increase the defense spending. More will follow. But we need to avoid fragmentation. Thus, we need a coordinated approach,” she said. EU leaders instructed the European Commission to prepare by mid-May an analysis of what is lacking in terms of investment in the defense sector, as well as ways to overcome these problems, she added.