The day after the informal meeting of European defence ministers and following a video address by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, European leaders will discuss, on Thursday 1 February, military support for Ukraine.
According to draft conclusions seen by EUROPE, the leaders are expected to reiterate the determination of the EU and its Member States to continue to provide “timely, predictable and sustainable” military support to Ukraine, notably through the ‘European Peace Facility’ (EPF) and the EU training mission, but also through direct bilateral support.
At their meeting, the leaders are expected to take stock of the EPF. According to the conclusions, they are expected to welcome the progress made in the reform of the Facility, which must move from a destocking logic to a joint purchasing logic (see EUROPE 13339/8), and could welcome the increase in its overall financial ceiling of €5 billion. The Heads of State or Government are expected to call on the Council to reach rapid agreement on the reform of the EPF by March.
The leaders are also expected to reiterate the urgent need to speed up the delivery of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, given that the target of one million rounds of ammunition by March 2024 will not be met (see EUROPE13340/6). They are expected to call on the Member States to “accelerate the placing of the necessary orders in order to benefit from the industry's increased production capacity”.
In a joint letter, the presidents of the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and ECR groups urged the European Council and the Member States to “keep their promises, to guarantee effective and sustainable long-term military support for Ukraine and to step up their efforts to provide the ammunition and military support that the Ukrainian defence forces so urgently need”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)