Petteri Orpo plans to raise the necessity of helping Ukraine at the summit. “We need to do more.”
The heads of state of the European Union member states have gathered in Brussels for an extra two-day summit.
The topic of the meeting is foreign relations on Wednesday and competitiveness and the internal market on Thursday. Finland is represented at the meeting by the Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (kok).
Kauppalehtin in the draft resolutions seen, the European Council strongly condemns Iran’s air attack on Israel on Saturday.
EU leaders call on all parties to refrain from actions that could increase tensions in the region. The EU is ready for new sanctions against Iran, which would especially apply to unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles.
When Orpo arrived at the meeting, he spoke about the criticality of the situation at the front in Ukraine. He said he intends to bring it up at the meeting.
“We need to talk about the fact that the EU and EU member states need to do more to help Ukraine quickly. Ukraine needs anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi condemned the beginning of the week Iran’s attacks on Israel. He also stated that the intensity of Russia’s attack requires more unity from the West.
“By defending Israel, the free world has shown that unity is not only possible, it is also 100% effective,” Zelenskyi stated.
He pointed to the fact that Israel’s air defenses were able to repel Iranian missile and drone strikes almost perfectly.
“All we ask of our partners, even if you can’t act the way you do in Israel, is that you give us what we need. We will do the rest of the work,” Zelenskyi said.
Orpo was asked before the start of the summit what kind of thoughts Zelensky’s comments evoke. He replied that they provoked a lot of thought.
“If we are not able to give Ukraine proper air defense, then we will see what happens there now. Russia is capable of destroying infrastructure, energy plants, striking civilians and military targets. Eyeless destruction. Yes, this message has gone through. This is what we are going to talk about today,” Orpo said.
He said, however, that he would not equate the situation between Israel and Ukraine. Due to the long war, Ukraine’s situation is different from Israel’s.
“I think this example shows what can be done. That’s why more needs to be done.”
Competitiveness is Finland’s number one priority
On the second day of the meeting, EU leaders will primarily discuss the Union’s competitiveness and the internal market.
Former Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta has prepared a report on competitiveness, which he will present to the managers on Thursday.
Do you think there will be enough time in the meeting to discuss this huge topic?
“Tomorrow is above all reserved for that. We have been talked about competitiveness in almost everyone [huippukokouksessa]. For Finland, it is the number one priority in building the next commission’s agenda.”
Orpo said that he attended a meeting of the six leaders in Warsaw last week, where a lot was said about the competitiveness of the EU.
“There is a discussion going on all the time. Fortunately, it’s not just this [kokous].”
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will visit Lappeenranta on Friday. The purpose of the visit is to get to know the situation on Finland’s eastern border.
Von der Leyen travels to Lappeenranta from Brussels together with Orpo.
What are you going to discuss with von der Leyen on your way to Finland on Thursday?
“Of course I’m talking about the border, the situation in Eastern Finland. The border is closed, the iron curtain has practically descended on it. In addition to that, I will talk about our goals for the EU’s strategic agenda.”