In his letter of invitation addressed to European Heads of State or Government in anticipation of their informal meeting to be held in Copenhagen on Wednesday, 1 October, President of the European Council António Costa stressed the importance of strengthening Europe’s common defence capabilities while continuing to support Ukraine.
A European Council spokesman emphasised that after 23 consultations conducted as part of his “Tour des Capitales” [tour of European capitals], Mr Costa identified “two closely interlinked priorities: security and defence. For almost all [of the leaders consulted], this includes support for Ukraine—and competitiveness.”
In Copenhagen, leaders will specifically be encouraged to provide guidance with the European Commission’s ongoing work on a defence-capability roadmap in mind. This roadmap will be presented in preparation for the European Council meeting in Brussels on 23 and 24 October.
In the introductory remarks of his letter of invitation, Mr Costa wrote, “Russia’s recent airspace violations in Poland and Romania are a stark reminder that we must accelerate and deepen our efforts”. Among other things, he mentioned the need to invest in defence “more efficiently and rationally” with common financial instruments such as SAFE (see EUROPE 13711/25 and 13649/23).
On Friday, 19 September, Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace.
European leaders will also be asked to give their opinions on how to support Member States on the eastern flank that are facing increased threats and how to ensure “efficient political oversight and coordination”.
In addition, Mr Costa has asked leaders to examine how to continue to support the Ukrainian armed forces while intensifying pressure on Russia – for instance, by strengthening sanctions (see other news). He also hopes that Ukraine’s EU accession process will continue.
A spokesman stated that Mr Costa’s tour of capitals revealed that “leaders largely insisted accession negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans need to be expedited and [that they] recognised that we now have a geopolitical opportunity that must be seized”.
To see Mr Costa’s letter of invitation: https://aeur.eu/f/iix (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)