“Russia is preparing for a new major offensive against Ukraine, and our aid to Ukraine must be sufficient to counter it, because Russia is not running low on weapons or ammunition yet,” Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. “Furthermore, our military support must help Ukraine push Russian soldiers out from its territory. Our words must turn into actions. All partners can and must do more to support Ukraine. We can also begin to quickly increase the production capacity of the European defence industry. Similar to the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, we could organise joint procurements of ammunition, which the member states would finance, the European Commission would help carry out, and the ammunition could be handed over directly to Ukraine,” explained the prime minister.
Kallas also noted that at the meeting, the heads of state and government of the European Union discussed how to speed up the establishment of a special international court to investigate the crime of aggression and the use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. “Everyone who is behind the crime of aggression must bear responsibility. There should be no impunity, no immunity for this ultimate crime. That is why the establishment of a special international court is so important,” Kallas emphasised. She added that the leading role of the European Union is essential here, as well as in the use of frozen assets, and to find the best solution, the member states must continue to cooperate with the Commission.
According to the prime minister, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also emphasised to the heads of state and government the importance of the united action of the European Union in stopping the Russian aggression. “Our united action will help Ukraine win,” said the prime minister.
The heads of state and government discussed increasing the competitiveness of the economy
“A highly competitive internal market is the source of the economic success and prosperity of the European Union. We discussed how to strengthen the internal market, because it is the source of our economic growth and success, and it is also the backbone of the European economy. The fundamentals of the single market and their protection must not be forgotten even when distributing subsidies in a crisis situation,” said the prime minister.
“In the long run, a competitive Europe is guaranteed by the free market, not subsidies and state aid. Market failures cannot be solved with subsidies and loans. Instead, it is our task to solve this problem. Market failures must be solved by dealing with the root causes,” Prime Minister Kallas explained.
The heads of state and government decided to simplify the rules of the internal market and change the state aid regulations to increase the competitiveness of European industry and strengthen the industry. It was also decided to change the existing funding schemes for the creation of green technology and speeding up production. The discussion on this topic will continue in March at the next European Council.
The European Council discussed the protection of the external border of the European Union
The European Council discussed issues related to illegal migration and strengthening the protection of the external borders of the European Union. According to the prime minister, the European Union must be more assertive in preventing illegal migration. “The discussion focused on our opportunities in supporting the refugees in the countries of origin. We must deal with the causes of illegal migration, not the consequences, including preventing the exploitation of migration for political purposes, as we saw in the case of Belarus in 2021,” said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. “We agreed to strengthen cooperation with countries of origin regarding readmission policies. We will also move forward with strengthening the external border of the European Union and supporting border countries similar to ours in enhancing and protecting security,” added Kallas.
Conclusions of the informal extraordinary European Council: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/european-council/2023/02/09-10/
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stenbockimaja/albums/72177720305890344/with/52678352066/
