Prime Minister Orpo: The EU has to do much more for defence

The EU leaders discussed ways to strengthen Europe’s collective defence at their informal retreat in Brussels on Monday 3 February. The discussions, which continued late into the evening, also focused on EU-US relations, support for Ukraine and defence cooperation with key partners. According to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who represented Finland at the meeting, the exchange of views was very useful.

“Our objective is clear. The EU must remain united and must do much more for common defence and security. One of the key lessons of the war in Ukraine has been that the era of traditional warfare is not over. We also need strong ground combat capabilities,” said Prime Minister Orpo in Brussels.

The heads of state and government discussed European defence from a wide range of perspectives, including developing the European defence industry, strengthening the national defence of the Member States, deepening NATO cooperation and mobilising funding for defence. Finland’s position is that any EU financial assistance should primarily take the form of loans or guarantees.

“Finland is open to exploring different funding solutions to support Ukraine and strengthen the EU’s comprehensive security. Finland should be a net beneficiary of the solutions. Funding must be targeted at those areas where Europe is being defended,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

Defence and security also featured prominently in the EU leaders’ discussions with close partners. At lunch, the leaders met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The EU 27 leaders then met for their first discussions with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, over dinner.

Based on the leaders’ advice, the Commission and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas are drawing up a White Paper on European Security, which is due to be published in March. The EU leaders will continue their discussion on defence at the June European Council.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Orpo gave an opening address on the recent events in the Baltic Sea. Orpo emphasised that although the investigations are still under way, so many cuts to cables cannot be an accident.

“Undersea cables are part of the critical infrastructure of the EU. We have to monitor the cables more closely and improve our capacity to repair them. The Commission’s initiative on protecting undersea cables is very welcome,” said Prime Minister Orpo.
                          
The EU leaders’ retreat was held at the Palais d’Egmont near the Old Town in Brussels.

Inquiries: Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768, Jari Luoto, Director General, EU Affairs Department, tel. +358 50 468 5949 and Marko Ruonala, Project Manager (Communications), tel. +358 50 522 8233, Prime Minister’s Office