Check against delivery!

Good morning,

Today we are going to discuss - as always – about [Russia’s aggression] against Ukraine. We will have Minister [for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro] Kuleba. But at this moment, and for the third night, Russia bombs and destroys all of the port infrastructure in Odesa [and other coastal cities] and the storages of grain – more than 60,000 tons of grain has been burned. So not only do they withdraw from the grain agreement, in order to [halt the] export the grain from Ukraine, but they are burning the grain. It is the third night [of] massive air attacks against Odesa port and infrastructure that is causing not only civilian casualties, but a big destruction of the grain storage there.

This is a barbarian attitude which will be taken into consideration by the Council today. [During] the talks with [Minister] Kuleba, we will have more information, but what we already know is that this is going to create a huge food crisis in the world.

If this grain is not only stopped but [also] destroyed, it means that there will be a shortage of food, of grain in the world. So, we will listen to [Minister] Kuleba, we will discuss how to continue supporting Ukraine in the long run – a long term security commitment and guarantees to Ukraine on our side, which means increasing the resources of the European Peace Facility. 

I presented a plan to ensure the financial support for Ukraine in the next years, which will amount to quite an important amount of money. I hope the Ministers will support it. I do not want to give the figures now because I prefer to have first the political agreement of the Ministers. But it is clear that we will have to engage more with Ukraine having a stable instrument, because Ukraine will need support not month by month, but on the long term, [with] a structured and continued support.

But what is happening in Odesa these three nights is very grave. I will give more details after the Council.

We will have also a teleconference with Secretary [of State of the United States, Antony] Blinken. We will go back to the China issue after the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Ministers will re-take the paper presented at the Gymnich [meeting] to continue re-shaping our relationship with China.

I hope that my visit to China - that has been cancelled twice for health reasons - will take place soon after the summer.

Turkey is again on the agenda. We will also discuss how we retake our relations with Turkey. It was a long time without talking about Turkey, but today Turkey is again on the agenda.

So, mainly, Ukraine, Russia, [Secretary of State] Blinken, [Minister] Kuleba, Turkey, China and – that is important – the foreign policy implications of economic security. 

Economic security is not just a technological issue, discussing which technologies are a risk, which dependencies have to be controlled or cancelled, but it will affect fully our foreign policy. And that is why the Ministers [for Foreign Affairs] have required [us] to study deeply how do we implement this process, and which are the foreign policy implications of it. So, I think it is very important that the foreign policy of the European Union integrates the economic security dimension.

Q&A 

Q. What do you think of the Russian threat to consider all ships in the ports of the Black Sea as military vessels. How can the European Union and the international community react to it?

As I said, what is happening in Ukraine, in the port of Odesa, it is a very grave situation. [It is] something new, because even until now, at least the grain was exported but not destroyed. So, this consideration that any ship [is considered as] a war ship and so a target for the military activities of Russia, is a step further in order to continue preventing Ukraine from exporting their grains. It has two consequences: first, for Ukraine itself – depriving them of the resources – and secondly, for the rest of the world, who is being deprived of a critical – this is a critical raw material. Talking about critical materials, grain is a critical material.  

The Ministers will have to discuss how to proceed, but there is only one solution: to increase the military support to Ukraine. If they are being bombed, we have to provide anti-aerial capacities. If the Russians are using drones, we have to provide Ukrainians with anti-aerial capacities to destroy these drones. But the massive attacks of these last three nights require an answer from our side, the answer can only be one, apart from rhetoric – providing more military resources. That is why I am going to present a proposal to increase – I do not want to say the figure right now, [I will do so] after the meeting – in quite an important way, the capacity of the European Peace Facility. This is becoming very serious. 

Q. Poland said they will not open their borders for the grain. 

Well, apart from the sea, we have the Solidarity Lanes that allow us to export a lot of grain from the ports of the Black Sea going through the [land] borders of the Member States who are neighbours to Ukraine. This will have to be increased. If the sea route is closed, we will have to increase the capacity of exporting Ukrainian grain through our ports, which means a bigger effort for the Ukrainian neighbours. They will have to contribute more, opening the borders and facilitating transport in order to take the grain of Ukraine from the Black Sea ports. This will require from Member States more engagement. We have done a lot, we have to do more. 

Q. Turkey wants accession negotiations with the European Union. What do you expect internally?  

This is the first time that we will discuss about Turkey since many, many months. Turkey finally accepted to lift the veto to the entrance of Sweden in NATO. The last news from Turkey: I met the new Foreign Affairs Minister of Turkey [Hakan Fidan] at the ASEAN meeting in Jakarta. They want to relaunch the negotiations for their adhesion [EU accession]. They want to put the European agenda high in their political approach to us. That is good news. The Ministers will have discuss how to answer to the request of Turkey. 

You know, the Ukrainian candidacy to the European Union has created a new dynamic in our neighbourhood. If Ukraine is a candidate, it will accelerate the process in the whole Balkans and then, certainly, Turkey wants also to be a part of this game.  We have to look first at the modernisation of our Customs Union and also to the issue of visas. 

Q. How possible is that? For both of them, how possible [is it] to have a relaunch of the discussions on these issues? 

Look, I cannot tell you what the Ministers will say. You will have to wait for my press conference after the meeting. 

Q. With all the military support you gave for [the Ukrainian] counterattack, it seems very difficult to make advances. Are you worried that it will continue like this? 

Certainly, I am worried. How could I not be worried? You know what is happening: three nights of continuous bombing[of port infrastructure]. Everybody should be worried, not [only] me, the whole world should be worried. 

Q. Can we expect a decision today regarding Turkey moving forward to negotiations? 

I do not know. [I] will tell you later. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-244560