Page 17 - The European Union and the War on Ukraine

The united reaction of the EU member states to the Russian
aggression, by its speed, scope and effectiveness, as war returned in
Europe, came as a major surprise for many outside the Union, first and

foremost the Kremlin. For the first time, the EU member states not only
spoke with one voice but also began to work hand-in-hand for
countering the aggressor country: Poland turned itself into a "logistics

hub" for the arms deliveries to Ukraine, intelligence-sharing and cyber-
defence provided to Ukraine through the EU satellite systems
significantly upgraded the Ukrainian military toolbox, tens of thousands
of EU citizens volunteered to fight alongside the Ukrainians against the

Russian invaders as Belgian, French, Italian, Latvian, Luxembourg and
Swedish fighters with military experience arrived in Ukraine, some EU
governments, such as those in Denmark and Sweden, have given people

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the green light to join the anti-Russia brigades in Ukraine; Finland and
Sweden consider joining NATO thus reversing decades of a non-NATO
policy, Germany intends to increase its defence budget by € 100 billion;
Hungary, probably closest Russian ally in the EU, voted in favour of the

unprecedented scale of sanctions against the Russian Federation;
Denmark is to hold a referendum on joining the EU defence policy on
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June 1 – he Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and even
neutral Switzerland has lined up with the EU to hit the Russian

financial sector which pays for the war against Ukraine, etc.
For the first time, at the Versailles meeting of March 10-11,
2022, the EU member states unanimously agreed to reduce their energy

17 https://euobserver.com/world/154476
18 Under the CSDP, derives from art. 42 (6) of the Treaty on the EU.
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