The European Council expects Wednesday’s extraordinary European Union summit to come up with agreements that will ensure movement on shaping Europe’s sovereign defence, a senior European official told reporters in Brussels on condition of anonymity.
“We expect from this European Council – and the preparatory work gives us optimism – that the EU will really turn the page on the implementation of European defence,” the official said, commenting on the upcoming summit, which will focus on EU defence and the situation around Ukraine.
According to him, “there is a clear will for the EU to finally prepare solutions in order to become more sovereign, more autonomous in defence matters and to be able to provide for its defence needs.”
He recalled the European Commission’s proposals sent the previous day to EU member states on the rearmament of the European Union and expressed hope for an agreement by the European Council to move quickly on the basis of these proposals, among which there are significant ones.
The official sees the financial instruments proposed by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, which, among other things, envisage 150 billion euros in loans to member states for defence investment, as an effective mechanism for implementing these plans.
“The two pillars that for me are inseparably linked and that will be the subject of this extraordinary European Council are European defence and Ukraine,” the senior source said.
Von der Leyen said while presenting her ReArm Europe plan in Brussels that the EU was prepared to significantly increase defence spending given the short-term need to support Ukraine but also the long-term need to ensure its own security.
