German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected the proposal by Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party, for a joint European army to play a role in post-war peacekeeping in Ukraine, Politico reports.
Weber has recently proposed a number of ideas aimed at strengthening the European Union's influence on the international stage. Specifically, he proposed that military forces from European countries operate under a common flag in Ukraine as part of post-war security guarantees.
Merz welcomed Weber's attempts to reform the EU, but stressed that some of his ideas do not provide an immediate solution to Europe's problems.
“We must focus on the tasks that are before us now“, said the German Chancellor.
Merz reacted coolly to Weber's proposal to send European peacekeepers to Ukraine under a common flag. The agency noted that Germany has not yet made a decision on its participation in the peacekeeping mission.
“The Telegraph“ previously reported that British soldiers deployed to Ukraine for the peacekeeping mission would be bound by the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK Ministry of Defence will not seek to repeal the peacekeeping mission convention's provisions, despite the possibility of doing so.
This means that British troops operating in the region will be bound by a different legal code than that of Russia, which is not a party to the convention.