Dear Mark,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to our 5th Security College. We have called this meeting to discuss the security situation in Europe and to hear your views. Preserving peace has always been a core task of the European Union, and while the instruments have differed over time, the aim stayed the same. It has been now 3 years and 7 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine continues to resist on the battleground ceding virtually no territory this year. In the last 1000 days, Russia only captured 1% of the occupied territory of Ukraine. This despite more than a quarter of million Russians losing their lives on the battlefield this year. And Russia is increasingly under pressure economically. Interest rates are at 17% and inflation well above 10%. I believe firmly that we are at a moment where decisive action on our side can lead to a turning point in this conflict.
In the past months, we have already taken unprecedented steps. Our “White Paper” has outlined the strategic direction and priorities. And we proposed new ways to fund defence. Our ad hoc instrument SAFE is up and running in record time. Tomorrow at the informal European Council we will discuss the way forward.
On European defence, I see three relevant topics. First, on capabilities. We have a single set of forces, assigned to different missions – NATO, EU, UN or Coalitions of the Willing. Therefore, in close cooperation with NATO, we need capabilities that are interoperable. To achieve this, we need more joint procurement. Second, we need Defence Flagships. On the flagship-project Eastern Flank Watch for example we need to act now. Europe must deliver a strong and united response to Russias drone incursions at our borders. That is why we will propose immediate actions to create the drone wall as part of Eastern Flank Watch. We must move fast forward - together with Ukraine and in close coordination with NATO. And third, we need Defence Industrial Readiness a ramped-up, resilient and innovative European Defence Industry is key to our Defence Readiness. The industry needs to deliver at speed and at scale – as well as producing state-of-the-art military equipment. This is in a nutshell our preview on some of the key elements from the scoping paper. In two weeks, we will present the full version of our “Readiness Roadmap 2030”.
Finally on Ukraine. We are advancing on several work strands. First, we are increasing economic pressure on Russia. Our sanctions are working. Russias GDP is projected to slow down, from 4.3% in 2024 to 0.9% in 2025. We need to increase the pressure. To this end we proposed a new sanctions package with robust measures on the energy, financial services and trade. One of its key elements is the prohibition of LNG imports from Russia. Second, we need to provide military assistance to Ukraine. If we continue to believe that Ukraine is our first line of defence, we need to step up our military assistance to Ukraine. Concretely, we have agreed with Ukraine that a total of EUR 2 billion will be spent on drones. This allows Ukraine to scale up its drone production capacity and will allow the EU to benefit from this technology. However, a more structural solution for military support is necessary. This is why I have put forward the idea of a Reparations Loan based on immobilised Russian sovereign assets. The Loan would not be disbursed in one go. But in tranches, and with conditions attached. And we will strengthen our own defence industry by ensuring that part of the loan is used for procurements in Europe and with Europe. Importantly, there is no seizing of the assets. Ukraine has to repay the loan, if Russia is paying reparations. The perpetrator must be held responsible.
Dear Mark,
I look very much forward to the discussion with you – also in preparation of the Informal European Council.
