On Tuesday 12 March, with just a few days to go before the March European Council, which will focus on Ukraine and European defence, several representatives of the European Parliament’s political groups called on the EU to step up military support for Ukraine from the EU and its Member States. The Member States are still discussing the Ukraine component of the European Peace Facility, although the heads of state or government had called for an agreement by early March.
“Our support is and must remain unwavering. (...) There is no pause in our support, no, Ukraine doesn’t have to stop defending itself or raise a white flag (...), we have to maintain the balance of power”, stressed Valérie Hayer (Renew Europe, French) during a debate in plenary session. In her view, the weakening of Ukraine would be a disaster not only for Ukrainians, but also for the EU. She therefore said that it was crucial for leaders to agree on military aid, because “the urgency is there”.
“Aid to support Ukraine must be continued and increased with the weapons that Zelensky needs”, stressed Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, Spanish). She gave her support to the Commission’s proposal to use frozen Russian assets to supply Ukraine with military equipment, describing this step as “essential”.
Marco Zanni (ID, Italian), while stating that the EU should reiterate its readiness to support Ukraine, it should also stress that it is “first and foremost a peace project, not a war or defence project”.
In addition to support for Ukraine, Manfred Weber (EPP, German) emphasised security in the broadest sense: greater competitiveness, more European production, food and energy security, innovation, and access to essential raw materials. “Europe’s security is being defended by Ukraine, but we are in the process of creating the conditions for this within the EU”, he explained.
Beata Szydło (ECR, Polish) also emphasised security “on multiple levels”. She called for an analysis of the decisions already taken and for mistakes to be corrected, particularly with regard to European agriculture. “One of the mistakes that has undermined European agricultural competitiveness is the European Green Deal. We want to protect the climate, but we have to do it rationally”, she said.
During the debate, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, promised that the EU was “ready to respond with additional sanctions in the event that Iran supplies ballistic missiles to Russia”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)