A Forum to boost EU-Ukraine industrial cooperation

Mutual industrial cooperation between the EU and Ukraine to defend their industries. This is the main goal of the event that has taken place on May 6th in Bruxelles. For the occasion, over 350 companies gathered together to discuss about the cooperation and how to overcome the past and upcoming industrial challenges.

“This is the third time this meeting has taken place. The result should be engaging and integrating the Ukrainian defense industries inside the ecosystem of European capacities. We have to produce more and quicker, so let’s see how we can increase the capacities of Ukrainian industries together“, summed up the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell before the beginning of the event. “We have to increase the capacity to the military aid that we promised” continued Borrell, referring to the EU’s support to Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty, freedom, and independence against Russia’s war of aggression through air defense, ammunition, missiles, and drones.

At the event, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner Thierry Breton participated alongside the Belgian Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder and Ukrainian Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin.

The EU-Ukraine Defence Industries Forum leads one step toward the correct and concrete implementation of the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS); the strategy announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her 2023 State of the Union speech. The plan aims to achieve defence industrial readiness through more collaborative and European investment from Member States; improvement to the responsiveness of the European defence industry; mainstreaming a defence readiness culture; and teaming up with strategic, like-minded and international partners. “This is necessary to better protect our citizens and support our partners”, considered von der Leyen during her speech on the EDIS.

This event is highly crucial for the two parties, mostly because of the crisis that Ukraine is facing, but also as a strong sign against Russia that adds up to all the other restrictions that the EU has imposed against Russia. “We have to do our part. That is why this Forum should serve to identify concrete opportunities for joint inititiatives between Ukrainian’s and European’s companies, helping the Ukranians to rearm and funding it. We do not start from zero: a lot of cooperation is already happening. We need to go further”, states Borrell during the opening speech of the event.