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European Council President António Costa speaks about the work being done in the European Union to support Ukraine in order to ensure that a fair and lasting peace is achieved in future negotiations.
Speaking in Strasbourg on Tuesday at a plenary session of the European Parliament following the special meeting of the European Council on 6 March, Costa said: “We have been with Ukraine since day one. We have already provided more than EUR 135 billion in support to Ukraine since 2022. And we have now committed to increasing our support even more.”
Member states can immediately increase their support thanks to increased fiscal space, he said, and several member states have already announced commitments of an additional EUR 15 billion. “Last week, we also tasked the Council to work urgently on further initiatives to address Ukraine’s pressing military and defence needs. At the same time, we are preparing to support Ukraine for when it decides to engage in negotiations, to help it reach a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. And we stand behind Ukraine together with many partners,” stressed the President of the European Council.
Costa noted that the efforts they undertake in the European Union to spend more on European defence “will also benefit Ukraine.” “Ukraine’s security cannot be separated from Europe’s security. The best security guarantee we can provide is to strengthen Ukraine’s self-defence and to build a credible and robust Europe of Defence,” he is convinced.