EU Leaders move forward on Ukraine, defence and competitiveness during European Council summit

President Ursula von der Leyen participated last October 23 in a summit of the European Council that focused on the EU’s support for Ukraine, Europe’s defence readiness for 2030, and on how to boost the continent’s economy while upholding the EU’s climate goals.

The President presented the initiatives that the Commission has been working on over the last months and the Heads of State and Government confirmed the trajectory going forward.

The Leaders welcomed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated the EU’s unwavering support for Ukraine and discussed how to ensure Ukraine can defend itself against the Russian aggression. The initiative of a Reparations Loan financed with the immobilised Russian assets in Europe, raised by President von der Leyen during her State of the Union Address last month, was discussed by the Leaders, who requested the Commission to present options to be discussed at the next summit.

On the broader topic of defence, EU Leaders discussed the Roadmap for Readiness 2030 presented by the Commission and the High Representative this week. During her closing press conference with President António Costa, President von der Leyen explained that the Roadmap has a 360 degrees approach: “Because our security is about protecting borders. Today it is in the east, tomorrow it might be in the south.”

The President said that the projects identified are pan-European and cross-cutting in nature and that they can be projects of common European interest.

Likewise, the Roadmap and all recent EU initiatives point to an important surge in defence expenditure, which, President von der Leyen insisted, can represent an engine for economic growth. “We want a very clear return on investments by creating jobs and having research and development here in the European Union,” she said.

The issue of Europe’s competitiveness was discussed along with the importance of succeeding the clean transition. The Commission President stressed that both topics go hand in hand. She said: “The global market for batteries is expected to double in size over the next five years. The global market for wind turbines continues to rise by over 10% every year. And if you look at developing economies, last year the sales of electric cars have risen by 60%. This is not just good news for the climate, it is also a great economic opportunity. So the question for us is, whether we want to reap the benefits of this global clean tech boom. Or just let others profit from it.”

President von der Leyen spoke of the need to introduce a “made in Europe” criterion for public procurement in strategic sectors, harnessing the financial potential of governments, and she reiterated that Europe will support key industries like cars and battery manufacturing.

While doing this, the EU will stick to its climate goals and EU Leaders supported an ambitious and pragmatic approach towards achieving them, which includes international credits and flexibilities between economic sectors. As the President said, “we are on track for the 2030 goal. We have of course all agreed on a clear target of climate neutrality by 2050. Now we have the interim step 2040 ahead of us. We had proposed a 90% target and introduced new flexibilities. And today we saw a strong endorsement of an ambitious, pragmatic approach.”

Another topic in the competitiveness debate was the simplification efforts carried out by the Commission so far. The simplification drive was welcomed by EU Leaders. They called on the European Parliament and the Council to swiftly conclude work on the remaining packages. They also called on the Commission to identify further simplification opportunities, something President von der Leyen has already said will be a priority in the coming months.

Leaders also held a first debate on housing, during which President von der Leyen announced that the Commission will put forward still this year its European Affordable Housing Plan and that it will organise the first EU Housing Summit next year.

More information: European Commission