President von der Leyen was in Copenhagen this week to attend the informal meeting of the European Council and the European Political Community Summit. Leaders gathered in the Danish capital to discuss European defence and European support to Ukraine.
The topic of European security and defence is ever more present as Poland, Romania, Estonia and Denmark have recently suffered drone and even jet incursions in the airspace. The President expressed her solidarity with those Member States at the press conference that took place following the informal summit. She said: "[These incursions] are part of hybrid war tactics. These are threats that demand a strong and determined European response. Every European citizen, and every square centimetre of our territory must be safe. So we must provide the strongest of deterrence. At scale and at speed."
President von der Leyen reiterated the success of SAFE, the €150 billion instrument for defence joint procurement in the EU, before highlighting some of the major points of the scoping paper on defence that was discussed by leaders at the meeting. She first pointed out the issue of capabilities and the ongoing work with NATO. The President explained: "In close cooperation with NATO, we are working on interoperability of capabilities that we want to have. Our Roadmap until 2030 will define not only common objectives but concrete milestones. Because it is a matter of time and only what gets measured, gets done. For each critical capability, we will propose so-called capability coalitions with a lead nation."
She also highlighted the Eastern Flank Watch flagship and the drone wall. She detailed: "This project aims to counter the full spectrum of threats at our eastern borders. A core element will be the 'drone wall'. It is a system for swift detection, interception, and if needed, neutralisation, here we draw a lot on Ukraine's expertise, and therefore we must move fast forward – together with Ukraine and in close coordination with NATO."
The third aspect she highlighted was the Defence Industrial Readiness. The President of the Commission stressed: "We need a ramped-up, resilient and innovative European Defence Industry. We have launched our defence omnibus to simplify the procedures, and speed up in the whole process. And this defence industry needs a strong ecosystem that is composed not only of industry, of course, but also tech start-ups." She also declared that a proposal to establish new Tech Alliances to connect tech innovators with defence users was put forward.
As regards Ukraine, President von der Leyen expressed her admiration for Ukraine's resistance and reiterated the EU's unwavering support. She underlined the effect sanctions have on the Russian economy, affirming: "This is the time to further increase the pressure on Russia. To this end, we proposed a new approach of sanctions: We do not approach the sanctions in incremental steps anymore– but we present much more robust measures on energy, financial services and trade. That is the 19th sanctions package that is on the table right now."
President von der Leyen also spoke of the need to continue supporting Ukraine, including militarily. She mentioned €2 billion in additional assistance to be spent on drones, and once again put forward the idea of having a Reparations Loan based on immobilised Russian 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 gets these loans. And Ukraine has to repay the loans if Russia is paying reparations. Because the perpetrator must be held responsible," she said.
The day after the European Council meeting, leaders from across the continent met for the 7th meeting of the European Political Community, which has become a strategic forum for discussion between European partners beyond the EU.
President von der Leyen took the occasion to hold a series of bilateral meetings. She met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy together with European Council President António Costa and Prime Minister Frederiksen. And she met as well the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
