The Russian war in Ukraine is the immediate cause for almost all the measures currently being discussed within the European Union. Decisions on support, sanctions, and cooperation are largely determined by the progress and impact of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
Russian Criticism
Criticism of European actions is coming from the Russian side, alongside warnings and threatening language directed at EU countries and companies supporting Ukraine.
In contrast, military cooperation between the European Union and Ukraine is increasing steadily. Joint initiatives are being developed that combine knowledge, technology, and production capacity to strengthen military support.
Promotion
Missile Shortage
Within Europe, there is a growing awareness that the own defense industry is still falling short. In several discussions, it is acknowledged that production capacity lags behind and that this poses a problem given the current geopolitical situation. Ukraine is facing an increasingly urgent shortage of anti-aircraft missiles, especially of the Patriot type.
For this reason, there are more frequent calls to significantly scale up the production of defense materiel. Efforts are being made both within the EU itself and in cooperation with Ukraine to find ways to produce faster and more. The Netherlands signed a contract last week to build drone parts together with a Ukrainian company.
Payments
The intended new Hungarian prime minister, Peter Magyar, has said he wants to quickly come to agreements with Brussels on the disbursement of suspended EU payments, both those to Kyiv and to Budapest.