“Putin is once again trying to terrorize the Ukrainian people. Using winter as a weapon. To freeze Ukraine into submission. Once again, he will fail. And Europe will continue to strengthen Ukrainian resistance. We will repair the damage caused by the Russian attack. We will stabilize Ukraine’s energy grid with electricity exports of more than 2 gigawatts. And we will protect critical infrastructure, with new anti-drone equipment.”. Ursula von der Leyen said this when speaking at the EP Plenary. “This winter will determine the future of war and the response must match the challenges,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said while speaking in the European Parliament.
“We must continue to increase the war costs borne by Russia. For this reason we will disburse almost 6 billion euros to Ukraine today. “Therefore, I welcome the European Council’s commitment to meet Ukraine’s financial needs over the next two years,” he added.
“We are working with Belgium and all Member States on the options available to realize this commitment. Option 1 is to use room for maneuver in the budget to raise funds in capital markets. Option 2 is an intergovernmental agreement in which Member States raise the necessary capital themselves. Option 3 is to use a reparations loan based on Russian immovable assets. This loan will be based on the cash balance of immovable assets. We are providing a loan to Ukraine, which will be reimbursed by Ukraine if Russia pays compensation” explained von der Leyen. “This is the most effective way to support Ukraine’s defense and economy. And it is the clearest way to make Russia understand that time is not in its favor,” he stressed.
“We must accelerate the transition to a clean economy, but also use it to drive growth and prosperity. This has been at the heart of our discussions at the Council of Europe: the race towards decarbonisation goes hand in hand with the race towards competitiveness. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. Of course, there are still reasons for deep concern: nature reminds us every day of the devastating impact of inaction. But there is also progress that must be recognised. Ten years ago, we were heading towards a temperature rise of 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Today we are approaching 2.3 degrees Celsius. This figure is still too high, but for the first time in modern history the curve is changing direction and this shows our ability to change the situation for the better,” he added.
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