European Council reaffirms strong support for Ukraine and pledges to strengthen European defence capabilities

The EU leaders affirmed their strong support for Ukraine at the Special European Council on Thursday 6 March. The EU leaders also highlighted the need for the EU to invest swiftly and strongly in developing its own defence. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo represented Finland at the meeting.

At Finland’s initiative, the EU leaders called on the European Commission to speed up the disbursement of the support already approved for Ukraine. In addition, the leaders approved Finland’s initiative to use the Ukraine Facility in a more diverse manner to increase support for Ukraine. 

“I am very pleased that the Special European Council meeting, which Finland had requested, was held and that it produced concrete results. Finland was active in putting forth solutions that promote support for Ukraine,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

“We are moving in the right direction. We must continue our work to support Ukraine and strengthen European defence. We need more bold decisions like these,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

The European Council reaffirmed its continued and unwavering support for Ukraine and stressed that Russia’s war of aggression must be brought to an end through a just and lasting peace. The European Council also emphasised that there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine and that any truce or ceasefire agreement must be accompanied by robust and credible security guarantees for Ukraine. Peace must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine must be in a strong position when negotiating peace, and the EU remains committed to providing enhanced support to Ukraine together with its partners and allies. 

The Council conclusions on Ukraine were supported by 26 of the 27 EU Member States.
 
The other topic on the agenda for the meeting was European defence. The EU leaders stressed that Europe must become more responsible for its defence in a changing security situation. The European Council underlined the need for Member States to increase their defence spending and welcomed the Commission’s plan to strengthen European defence.

“I highlighted the idea of recognising the special status of the eastern border with regard to European defence, and this was successfully recorded in the conclusions,” said Prime Minister Orpo. 

“We need a clear vision for Europe to become a strong military force, the European pillar of NATO, within the next 5–10 years,” said Prime Minister Orpo. 

The EU leaders will continue their discussions on strengthening European defence at the upcoming European Council on 20–21 March.

Inquiries: Juuso Kilpinen, Special Adviser for EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 444, Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser, tel. +358 295 160 978 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU and International Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office