The defence industry is the key to the common security of Ukraine and the whole of Europe. This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday 28 November at a press conference following talks with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

The Minister noted that during the meeting the parties discussed in detail the need to create a pan-European space and develop a Euro-Atlantic defence complex to ensure security in Europe.

“It is important to create a pan-European space where states will act together, where representatives of the defence industry will coordinate their actions, where all processes will be synchronised and united, where Europe will provide constant support to Ukraine, thus supporting its defence capabilities and armed forces,” he said.

Dmytro Kuleba expressed confidence that the pan-European defence industry space should unite not only EU member states, but also candidate and like-minded countries.

The Minister stressed that it was important for Ukraine to implement the European Commission’s recommendations and, following the European Council’s decision to open negotiations, to take concrete steps towards Ukraine’s EU membership as soon as possible.

“The best guarantee of security is Ukraine’s membership in the EU, but it is a guarantee of security not only for Ukraine, not only for Europe, but for the whole world,” he stressed.

During the talks, Dmytro Kuleba and Josep Borrell agreed on the need to take important decisions, such as the inclusion of new measures in the sanctions package to limit russia’s missile and drone production capabilities, the use of frozen russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction, and the application of the EU mechanism to support, restore and modernise Ukraine.