EU envoy says talks will likely discuss Ukraine war, China

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event during the Group of 7 (G7) Summit, at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Support for Ukraine, sanctions on Russia and dealings with China — all are likely to loom large in the discussions between the European Union leaders and President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday.  
 
“We will continue supporting Ukraine, as long as it takes, and we will ask for support from Korea, in whatever form they can provide,” said Maria Castillo-Fernandez, ambassador of the European Union to Korea, speaking with a group of reporters in Seoul recently.
 
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Charles Michel, who flew into Seoul on Sunday from Hiroshima following the Group of 7 (G7) Summit, are scheduled to meet with Yoon on Monday. 
 
Castillo-Fernandez was responding to a question from the press on whether the EU leaders may ask Yoon to provide lethal aid to Ukraine during their summit meeting in Seoul, the first since they took office in 2019.
 

Maria Castillo-Fernandez, ambassador of the European Union to Korea, speaks with a group of reporters in Seoul. [PARK SANG-MOON]

 
Sanctions on Russia may also be up for discussion.  
 
Korea joined international sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Its trade volume with Russia dropped by 22.7 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, according to Korea International Trade Association.  
 
Just days before the G7 Summit, the European Union held several ministerial meetings back-to-back, including its foreign ministerial meeting in Stockholm where the EU’s relations with China took up a good portion of the discussion.  
 
European leaders’ recent visits to Beijing or Taiwan recently have drawn strong responses both within Europe and China.
 
The EU does not want to isolate China, said Castillo-Fernandez.
 
“We want to engage with China — we see them as a partner, competitor and rival,” she said, reiterating the EU’s policy on relations with China. “For the EU, the position that China takes on Russia is important, because Beijing does have an influence on Moscow.”
 
The same applies to China’s role in North Korea, she added. China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted sanctions resolution on North Korea at the UN Security Council last May, marking the first time since 2006 that the council was split on the issue.
 
Europe’s economic reliance on Beijing is an issue that each European country will have to solve, said Castillo-Fernandez. The EU’s trade deficit with China hit 396 billion euros ($428 billion) last year, more than doubling the numbers from 2016.
 
“Trade can become a weapon,” said Castillo-Fernandez. “We saw it with Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.”
 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, second from right, attending a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel, left, in Hiroshima, on the second day of the G7 Summit Leaders' Meeting. [AFP/YONHAP]

Each EU member may address their economic reliance on China differently, she added.
 
“The idea is that the music will be the same,” she said.
 
Yoon and the EU presidents were also expected to discuss their ongoing maritime security and cyber security cooperation against threats in the region, including from North Korea.
 
"To strengthen our partnership on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties, we are discussing expanding the pillars of our cooperation to green, health and digital," said Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, in speaking with the press last week.
 
The leaders will release a joint statement following their meeting Monday.
 

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center left, arrive for a working session with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in this file photo dated April 6. [AP/YONHAP]

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]