Michel: EU and its member states have contributed nearly EUR 50B in aid to Ukraine

"For the first time in history, we provided lethal military equipment to Ukraine through our European Peace Facility just a few hours after the start of the [full-scale] war. So far, we have reached more than 3 billion euros in addition to the massive military contributions of our member countries. Since day one, we have stood by the people of Ukraine with strong diplomatic, financial, diplomatic, and political support. Together, the EU and its member states have contributed nearly 50 billion euros [in aid]," President of the European Council Charles Michel said at a press conference in Brussels after the signing of the 3rd Joint Declaration on EU-NATO cooperation, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He also noted that Russia’s war against Ukraine brought the EU and NATO closer. Both organizations adopted strategic documents that will determine their future security – the EU Strategic Compass and NATO Strategic Concept. These efforts complement each other. The Alliance plays a key role as the basis of territorial defense, which is important for the entire Euro-Atlantic security. The EU is strengthening its defense capabilities and is ready to make a more effective contribution to the global security.

"Russia's war against Ukraine has strengthened both our organizations – EU and NATO – and brought us closer together. We are stronger. NATO has reinforced its presence in Eastern Europe and it will have two new members, Sweden and Finland. Putin wanted less NATO but has achieved the opposite: he will have more NATO, and he will have more EU. We are also getting stronger, we are speeding up the enlargement process with the Western Balkans and we took a historic decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and a European perspective to Georgia," Michel said.

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