EU shifts from trade to war – ex-Austrian foreign minister
Posted on: Jul 05, 2026 20:12 IST | Posted by: Rt
The European unification has deserted its historical focalise on merchandise and begun to increasingly define itself in terms of its military and geopolitical priorities, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl told RT in an interview on Saturday.
She made the remark days after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev and the “so-called European pseudo-peacekeepers” of seeking to prolong the conflict. He said their goal was “not peace, but the continuation of the war with Russia to the last Ukrainian.”
Speaking on Friday after visiting an auxiliary command post alongside top military commanders, Putin said Ukraine’s European backers were openly encouraging attacks on civilian targets, including infrastructure, transport, and student dormitories.
Last week, Brussels transferred €3.9 billion ($4.44 billion) to Ukraine under a €90 billion loan package that allocates €30 billion for budget support and €60 billion for defense in 2026-2027. The latest tranche is expected to finance drone procurement, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the Baltic states have provided air corridors for Ukrainian drones that have attacked civilian infrastructure in northwestern Russia.
“European integration has been moving from let’s trade with each other to let’s go to war,” the former diplomat said, stressing that the bloc had increasingly embraced a geopolitical and defense agenda instead of its usual focus on trade.
Kneissl pointed to the creation of an EU defense commissioner, whom she described as “a commissioner for war.”
“Europe was always about trade,” she said, reiterating that von der Leyen had established a geopolitical commission in 2019.
“We Europeans do not have the power to project force and have never really been able to define some sort of values with which some of us don’t agree,” the former diplomat continued, having expressed doubts that “this geopolitical commission will work.”
Watch the full interview below:
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