NordenBladet —
“The Council will discuss European defence, in particular the defence initiative of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which would mean contributing EUR 800 billion to defence. The Council will also discuss the channelling of a EUR 150 billion loan to the growth of the defence industry,” Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said.
“We no longer have the time to sit back and wait for the implementation of the next long-term budget of the EU in 2028, we need to act now, quickly and decisively. For Estonia, military defence is crucial, as well as the development and security of critical infrastructure,” he underlined, adding that the biggest war since the Second World War was going on in Europe and we must do more to support Ukraine who was fighting the aggressor.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Marko Mihkelson, who participated in the sitting, expressed concern that mobilising such a large amount of money would take a long time, and suggested that there were platforms through which investments in the defence industry could be made immediately if there was a political will for that. “The possibility of channelling European assistance funds to Ukraine to fill the gap left by the Americans should be considered. In addition to supporting Ukraine, we also need to think about how to support Moldova and Georgia so that this region would not become Russia’s zone of influence,” Mihkelson pointed out.
It was noted at the sitting that it was important to put pressure on Russia, including through the use of frozen assets, to increase military assistance to Ukraine and to maintain relations with the United States. It is expected that the Council will decide that in order to cover the gap left by the United States, the European Union has to assume a more ambitious role in assisting Ukraine. Estonia expects the EU to send a message of support for the efforts Ukraine, who is waging a war, has made in moving forward with the EU accession process. The willingness of large member states to raise defence spending was also discussed.
The positions of the Government for today’s special European Council meeting in Brussels were presented by Prime Minister Kristen Michal. The positions of the Government were approved by consensus.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: Riigikogu: The European Union must increase its defence capability faster and invest more in supporting Ukraine
Source: Parliament of Estonia