Warsaw – The President of the European Council, António Costa, argued today that it is necessary to “strengthen security to ensure peace in Europe” on the occasion of the start of Poland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).
“Our [European] Union was born as a peace project after World War II, and we need to strengthen our security to ensure peace in Europe,” said António Costa, during a ceremony in Warsaw, to mark the start of the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
The President of the European Council, who took office a month ago, added that Ukraine “remains a priority” and that it needs support “as much as necessary, for as long as necessary,” heading towards the third anniversary of the conflict, on February 24, 2025.
Defense is a “strategic priority” for the European Union, considered the former Prime Minister of Portugal.
António Costa recalled that he organized for early February an informal meeting between the presidents and prime ministers of the 27 countries of the community bloc, the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Mark Rutte, and the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to address cooperation in this area.
Aligning with the narrative of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Costa called for strengthened cooperation with NATO (23 of the 32 member states of the Atlantic Alliance are also in the EU).
António Costa considered that the fact that the first semester presidency of 2025 falls to Poland will be “an inspiration,” due to the “resilience” of the population at a time of “foreign interference threatening democratic integrity.”
Poland assumed on January 1st and will conduct until June 30th the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union with a focus on the bloc’s security at a time of uncertainties and geopolitical challenges caused by conflicts.
Warsaw succeeds Hungary, led by the controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in the six-month presidency of the EU Council.