European Commission President: EU engages Ukraine in developing strategy for European defence industry

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced during a speech in the European Parliament that the European Union has engaged Ukraine in developing the future industrial strategy for the defence industry of EU countries.

"We don’t just need to expedite the supply of ammunition. Looking ahead, we should consider Ukraine's defence capabilities as part of our own. We should think of the Ukrainian defence industry complex as our own. Therefore, we have engaged Ukraine in preparing our strategy for the defence industry.

This is the first step that should lead to Ukraine's integration into some of our defence programmes – with the consent of the European Parliament and the EU Council when necessary. This will not only help meet Ukraine's defence needs but will also contribute to the coherence and joint planning of our military and defence industries," von der Leyen said.

Von der Leyen noted that EU countries collectively provided Ukraine with military aid exceeding €28 billion, assisted in training over 40,000 military personnel, and increased the capabilities of the European defence industry by 40%. By March, the number of artillery shells transferred to Ukraine will exceed half a million. However, she emphasised that this is not enough.

At this stage of the war, European policymakers must "sustain the momentum" to help Ukraine defend itself and protect the future of the rest of Europe, simultaneously considering future reconstruction, security guarantees for Ukraine, and strengthening the international security architecture.

"I am absolutely convinced... that Ukraine will prevail. And Europe will stand by it at every stage of this journey," stated the President of the European Commission.

EU leaders failed to make a decision on setting up a special fund for military support for Ukraine at an extraordinary summit on 1 February, but European Council President Charles Michel says "progress" has been made.

At the same time, at this summit, the EU adopted an extremely important decision for Ukraine regarding multi-year macro-financial assistance of €50 billion.