Aïda Sánchez-Aquí Europa
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday assured that Brussels’ goal “must remain a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and prevent it from becoming “another frozen conflict,” she told EU ambassadors around the world the same week she will present a report to analyze Ukraine’s entry into the Union.
Support for the embattled country is one of the key elements of her mandate and tomorrow, Wednesday, the president will present a report on the bloc’s candidate countries, including Ukraine.
In the speech, Von der Leyen sought to reiterate Russia’s failure. “Even if the situation on the ground is now developing slowly, one thing is clear: thanks to Ukraine’s determination, and our unwavering support, this war will remain a strategic failure for the Kremlin,” the Commission chairwoman assured. The conflict began almost two years ago now, in February 2022, and although Russia had hoped for a quick war the reality is that Ukraine has put up stiff resistance.
“Our goal must remain a just and lasting peace, not another frozen conflict,” defended Von der Leyen in the face of a possible stalemate in the war. Therefore, she recalled that “more than 60 representatives are working hard to prepare for a future Peace Summit in Ukraine.”
The most important thing now for Ukraine is, she assured, “long-term security”. Therefore, the president believes that it is necessary to “ensure a sustainable military force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future. So that history does not repeat itself.” According to the German, this will have strong implications for the European defense industry. “We must increase our production capabilities,” she assured. “This is what we are doing with ASAP, the Ammunition Production Support Act. But we must also look beyond ammunition: to air, maritime, space and cyber defense,” she explained. “We now have the opportunity to take more decisive steps towards a European Defense Union,” she insisted.
“The best way to give Ukraine stability and prosperity in the medium and long term is membership in the European Union. For Ukraine to recover, Europe is the answer,” she advocated, just days before presenting her report. “To protect Ukraine from future interference, Europe is again the answer. And the reverse is also true: in a world where size and weight matter, it is clearly in Europe’s geostrategic interest to complete our Union,” she noted. Last weekend, the president visited Ukraine for the sixth time since the beginning of the war.
