When he occupies the White House in January, will Donald Trump continue the American support program for Ukraine? While the response is still uncertain, several European countries said they were ready on Tuesday to provide financial and military aid to kyiv if Washington reduces its aid. This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Tuesday following a diplomatic meeting in Warsaw, on the thousandth day of Russian aggression.
“I note with satisfaction that the leading countries of the European Union are ready to shoulder the burden of military and financial support to Ukraine in the context of a possible reduction in the United States' commitment,” Radoslaw said Sikorski, who also stressed the need to strengthen the EU in defense matters. According to him, this is the first time that the five largest EU countries have spoken out in Warsaw “in favor of Defense Eurobonds. This is something serious,” said Radoslaw Sikorski during a joint press conference.
500 billion for the next ten years
His Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani also welcomed the announcement. “Today, we developed a strategy. It is the strategy of supporting European defense, of having Eurobonds […] We must move forward,” he said. The head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot spoke in this context of the mobilization of “all the levers at our disposal, including the financial and economic capacity of the European Union, for our security, for the development of the industrial base and technology of European defense”.
In June, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, estimated the defense industry's needs for the next ten years in the face of the Russian threat at 500 billion euros. Among the options discussed already at the time was that of a European loan, as the EU had done to finance its post-Covid-19 recovery plan. Several member states, including France and Estonia, were in favor of it, but others, such as Germany and the Netherlands, were opposed to it.
“Now is the time to save Europe”
On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed that Europe must continue to arm itself “as long as Russia […] pursue its imperial objectives. “The time to save Europe is now,” she insisted, without referring directly to the question of pan-European obligations. Annalena Baerbock also underlined the role of NATO which is, according to her, “the backbone” of common defense, freedom, and even the Charter of the United Nations which speaks of the prohibition of the use of force.
Both the German minister and her Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani insisted on the one hand on the need to “work together” with the United States, but on the other hand on the need to “strengthen the European pillar of NATO”. . According to Antonio Tajani, this will “also strengthen friendship and transatlantic relations”.
Russian “revisionism” denounced
In a joint declaration signed during the meeting, participants denounced Russian “revisionism” and its violations of international law. They pledged to invest in their “core military capabilities,” including air defense, precision deep strikes, drones and integrated logistics, as well as critical infrastructure and cyber defense.
The latest news on the war in Ukraine
The meeting, which was also attended by the future head of European diplomacy, the Estonian Kaja Kallas, and, via videoconference, the heads of Spanish diplomacy José Manuel Albares and the British David Lammy, was held the day after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andriï Sybiga, was also invited to Warsaw but he is attending events in kyiv linked to the thousandth day of Russian aggression.
