Strengthening European Defence in a volatile geopolitical landscape

2024-02-28 |

Mr President, first, my congratulations to Sweden. Now, we will be much stronger together, but we must realise that the war started by Russia is not a short-term crisis. Putin started this war thinking that democracies in general would not be able to withstand it. But we must be able to withstand.

We need a clear plan to help Ukraine to win. We need a consensus that each State allocates at least 0.25% of GDP to the victory of Ukraine. This should be the foundation of a real EU Defence Union.

On army, for me, an example of someone who is serious in the European Union about security is the army of Finland. Many EU countries have gotten used to comfort and prosperity and we have unprepared societies. We must consider returning to conscription and training of young people. Don’t give up, Europe!