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It was the last [Foreign Affairs] Council before the summer break and the agenda was very packed. 

We started with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine [and we] listened to the assessment of the situation by Foreign Minister [of Ukraine, Dmytro] Kuleba. 

We reconfirmed our [resolve] to continue supporting the legitimate defence of Ukraine against the aggressor, who keeps committing atrocities against the Ukrainian people, targeting these last three nights Ukrainian ports and grain storages, which affects also the most vulnerable people around the world.  

You know that Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Deal, and the world faces again a man-made problem of food security.  Putin is using hunger as a weapon – even against people in countries that still hesitate to condemn his illegal bloodshed in Ukraine.   

Let’s recall the basics: Russia - without any justification – is blocking and bombing Ukrainian seaports and preventing freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, [now also] threatening all ships navigating in the Black Sea to be considered as ‘warships’.  Russia illegally blocks exports of Ukrainian grain. It destroys Ukrainian fields and loots Ukrainian agricultural production. 

Contrary to what Russia is claiming, it is making good profits from exports of its grain and fertilisers, and will make even more profits now when the prices will rise again after Russia killed the [Black Sea Grain] Deal, and destroys the stockpiles in the Ukrainian harbours. 

We believe that the international community should respond decisively to this deliberate attempt by Putin to starve the world populations, in order to gain extra money or to fight this illegal war. 

The [Foreign Affairs] Council focused on the security commitments that the European Union can offer to Ukraine, to transform existing support into a long-term commitment to Ukraine’s security and resilience - in particular, our military assistance and training under the training mission for the Ukrainian Army [EUMAM Ukraine] will continue. 

I have outlined to Ministers our initiative to secure more sustainable and predictable financing for defence support to Ukraine.  We propose the creation of a dedicated section under the European Peace Facility (EPF) to provide up to €5 billion a year over the next four years for the defence needs of Ukraine. 

It is still the same tool – the European Peace Facility – which has been working very well and we will continue using it, but with a dedicated chapter inside it, with a specific funding which can be estimated on the figure I mentioned: €5 billion a year for the next four years. 

This is the evaluation of the needs and the cost of our long-term security commitment to Ukraine.  The Ministers exchanged views on this, [and] the issue will be debated in detail at the end of August in the Informal ministerial meeting in Toledo, in Spain. 

We also reaffirmed our support to Ukraine’s Peace Formula. We consider it as the only comprehensive basis to achieve a just and sustainable peace. And on that, Ukraine should be in the driver’s seat.  In the end, it is the Ukrainians who are suffering the direct consequences of this war. It is Ukraine which is being invaded. 

We also adopted a number of sanctions decisions. More sanctions related to Russia and its aggression against Ukraine, and in this context, we agreed new sanctions regime against Iran for its military support to Syria and Russia. We also adopted sanctions related to the situation in Myanmar and more listings for human rights violations in various countries, including Russia.

We then discussed about how to re-engage with Turkey.

This discussion will feed in the report that I am preparing together with the [European] Commission for the European Leaders – they tasked us in the last European Council.  

We are convinced that there is a reciprocal interest to develop a stronger relationship between Turkey and the European Union. And a sustainable de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean would [mean that people can] benefit [from] the stability and security of the whole region.  

Solving the Cyprus issue, in line with the relevant United Nations Resolutions, will be key in this reengagement with Turkey. 

Also, upholding fundamental freedoms and values as defined by the European Convention on Human Rights - to which Ankara is part of - would be essential.  

We agreed that the European Union needs to engage with Turkey, and build on common interests, trying to bridge the existing differences. So, the Council tasked me to try to implement this objective: to engage with Turkey, building on common interests and trying to bridge the existing differences.  

In the afternoon, we had US Secretary [of State, Antony] Blinken joining [us] over videoconference.  It is the fourth time that Secretary Blinken joins the Foreign Affairs Council. We discussed our level of cooperation in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Also, we discussed about China, and different issues, in which our unity is the greatest asset. Together with the United States, we are fully committed to standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We also discussed a coordinated outreach and engagement with other partners globally.  

And finally – because it has been a long [day] - we did not discuss [it] because, in fact, we postponed to the next [Foreign Affairs] Council meeting, the discussion on economic security. I just presented the Joint Communication [to enhance economic security] that we did together with the [European] Commission - the High Representative and the Commission. I presented the most important elements of this Communication, but the discussion was postponed to the next [Foreign Affairs] Council. 

We went to the Post-Cotonou Agreement. The Council finally adopted a decision on the signature and provisional application of the Post-Cotonou Partnership Agreement with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). This is the good news of the day. 

This Agreement will create a new legal framework for our relations with 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, for the next 20 years. It will succeed the Cotonou Agreement. As I said, this is the good news of the day. It has been blocked for several months for different reasons, but finally, we deblocked it and we could announce that the Post-Cotonou Agreement has been approved by the Council to be signed and ready to be implemented.

Q&A 

Q. You talked about Turkey. What are the steps that Turkey needs to take from now on since there is the momentum for a positive agenda. And what are the steps, especially regarding the liberalisation of visas and the modernisation of the Customs Union? What does the European Union expect from Turkey from now on?  

No es lo que la Unión Europea espere de Turquía solo. Es el do ut des, it is two ways. No es solamente lo que la Unión Europea espera de Turquía. También es lo que Turquía espera de la Unión Europea. 

Ciertamente, hay temas sobre la mesa que Turquía ya ha manifestado su interés en retomar, como la revisión del acuerdo sobre la Unión Aduanera o la liberalización de visados. Son seguramente las dos cosas más importantes que Turquía puede plantear en un futuro inmediato. Pero nosotros esperamos que haya una desescalada de la tensión en el mediterráneo este y que se retomen las negociaciones seriamente para resolver el problema de Chipre, de acuerdo con los planteamientos adoptados y aceptados por las Naciones Unidas. Está claro que, en la relación con Chipre y la relación con Grecia, la situación en el Mediterráneo oriental va a ser un aspecto fundamental de este intento de establecer de nuevo con Turquía unas relaciones constructivas.  

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-244561