The European Parliament on Wednesday officially urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine without further delay, according to a press release.
The annual 2022 report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), adopted by an overwhelming majority of MEPs, stresses that Ukraine is defending its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and urgently needs military aid and heavy weaponry to win the war.
“European security has dramatically deteriorated due to Russia’s war in Ukraine,” said Tom Vandenkendelaere, the rapporteur on Common Security and Defense Policy. “In this context, the EU has to increase and speed up military help to Ukraine and improve the functioning of its defense policy while continuing and strengthening its cooperation with NATO. Among other changes, it should fast-track the decision-making process on defense issues and reduce its dependence on third countries.”
In their annual Common Foreign and Security Policy Implementation report, MEPs also say that the EU and its member states need to increase their military, political and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and strengthen their defense in countering Russian threats to European security.
The EU’s response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is being closely watched by autocracies around the world and will greatly influence how they behave on the international stage, the EP warns.
Photo: BBC
