Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaya Kallas, will travel to Madrid on Monday, March 31, to attend the "Weimar+" meeting with representatives of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Andros Kubilius, Commissioner for Defense and Space, will also participate, according to a statement issued by Kallas's office in Brussels.
The European statement also stated that, prior to the informal Foreign Affairs and Defense Council in Warsaw on April 2 and 3, the Madrid meeting will allow for an exchange of views on the joint White Paper on European Defense/Preparedness 2030, ways to strengthen European security, and support for Ukraine.
This comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen affirmed in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that Europe has always been and will always be a project of peace. However, she stressed that maintaining peace requires strength, pointing to the lessons learned from recent developments related to the war in Ukraine and the EU's rearmament plans. Von der Leyen said, "We all want peace, and no one desires it more than the Ukrainian people. We have learned a bitter lesson: it is essential to be strong to protect and preserve peace."
In this context, she explained that the 2030 Preparedness Plan aims to examine the various dimensions of security and strengthen the means necessary to achieve peace.
She pointed to the importance of investing in emergency preparedness, using a medical analogy: "Prevention is better than cure." She noted that the preparedness strategy takes a comprehensive approach to protecting citizens, not only addressing military risks but also encompassing challenges such as global pandemics and natural disasters.
Von der Leyen emphasized that the "Preparedness 2030" plan, which aims to invest in defense and rearmament and whose name was changed after pressure from Spain and Italy, will benefit Italy.
She indicated that the investment program will boost prosperity, positively impacting the Italian economy and society, as well as infrastructure such as hospitals. She also expected an increase in job opportunities as a result of this plan. Regarding the Coalition of the Will, von der Leyen stated that three main results have been achieved: providing strong support to Ukraine in the short term through military commitments from several countries, maintaining sanctions against Russia until a just and lasting peace agreement is achieved, and strengthening the Ukrainian armed forces. She said: "Putin's goal was to occupy Kyiv in three days and Ukraine in three weeks, but he failed. Three years later, Ukraine is a candidate for EU membership and is more cohesive than ever. His goal was also to weaken NATO, but today NATO includes two new members: Finland and Sweden. Ukraine's resilience and continued international support prove that the aggressor will not achieve his goals."