COPENHAGEN — The EU should take on unprecedented powers to defend itself against increasing threats from Russia, Finland’s prime minister said.
In an interview with POLITICO ahead of a summit of the bloc’s leaders in Copenhagen on Wednesday, Petteri Orpo said the EU must act as a “real union” when it comes to facing down hostile states.
“We need common EU capabilities — so we need EU funding and EU cooperation,” Orpo said. “We have shown solidarity for the last two decades, for example, in Covid, in economy, in migration. Now is the time to show solidarity in security.”
Frontline states like Finland have long called for other member countries to step up on defense spending. But Orpo said all leaders now need to realize the eastern flank “is our common border” and that nobody is safe from Moscow’s tactics. A string of drone sightings grounded planes at Copenhagen’s airport just days before presidents and prime ministers flew in.
“These incidents, these attacks, are against the whole of Europe,” he said. “Who is next? Denmark is not a border country, so we can see that it’s possible all over Europe.”
Some national leaders and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are pushing for leaders to agree to bolster shared defensive capabilities and on the creation of a “drone wall” at Wednesday’s summit in Copenhagen’s Christiansborg Palace. That would take the bloc into uncharted territory, and potentially come with a string of new funding commitments.
However, Orpo said, that doesn’t mean Brussels displacing the NATO alliance.
“We trust NATO, that is clear,” he added. “The European Union can do more to help countries and support NATO, for example, to ramp up military industry, which is needed. Without stronger military industry, industrial capacity, in Europe, our defense cannot be stronger.”
The summit, hosted by Denmark during its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, is the first time leaders have met since June. “And a lot has happened after that,” Orpo said.
“There are no signs Putin will have peace,” he said. “Because of all this, we are worried — I am very worried — and now is the time here to take action.”
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