“There is nothing bigger than the threat posed to peace by Russia. We must continue to do everything within our power to help Ukraine to continue to defend itself”, said Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, speaking at the opening of the European Council in Brussels.
“We have already provided strong political, diplomatic, humanitarian, economic and military support to Ukraine”, Metsola told the 27 Heads of State and Government, “and here the European Parliament welcomes the adoption of the 13th package of sanctions, and the Ukraine Assistance Fund under the European Peace Facility. In this critical moment, our support of Ukraine cannot waver. We need to speed-up and intensify the delivery of equipment that they need. We also have to help Ukraine by prolonging” the trade measures favourable to Kyiv. “Our project of peace depends on our ability to be secure and autonomous”, Metsola added. “So if we are serious about protecting our collective security, we also need to take action on building a new EU security framework. In shaping this new architecture, we have already found agreement on several issues that many thought impossible. Now we must be ready for the next step of cooperation between us all. In this new world, going alone will not work”.