By BRUSSELS. Jan 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – NATO and the European Union have signed the third Joint Declaration on cooperation in light of the war waged by Russia against Ukraine which also threats European security.
The signing ceremony took place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
The document was signed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President of the European Council Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
"We have just signed the third NATO-EU joint declaration. To further advance the strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union. This is more important than ever. Almost a year ago, hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the three of us met together here at the NATO Headquarters. President Putin wanted to take Ukraine in a few days. And to divide us. On both counts, he has clearly failed. Russian troops have been pushed back by the brave Ukrainian forces. And NATO and the European Union have stood united in support of Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.
He also noted that "the regime in Moscow wants a different Europe."
"It wants to control its neighbors. And it sees democracy and freedom as a threat. This will have long-lasting consequences for our security. So we must continue to strengthen the vital transatlantic bond in NATO. We must continue to strengthen the partnership between NATO and the European Union. And we must further strengthen our support to Ukraine," NATO Secretary General said.
He also said that "persistent conflict and instability in our neighborhood undermine our security."
"Our declaration makes clear that NATO remains the foundation of our collective defense and remains essential for Euro-Atlantic security. It also recognizes the value of a more capable European defense that contributes positively to our security and is complementary to, and interoperable with, NATO," he said.
President of the European Council said that "21 of the 27 EU member states are members of NATO, and 23 if we count Sweden and Finland."
"EU member states represent the majority of NATO countries. The EU and NATO share the same common values of freedom and democracy, and we share the same goal: peace, freedom and prosperity for our people. Russia’s war against Ukraine has had two unintended consequences: it has strengthened both our organizations, the EU and NATO, and it has brought us closer together. […] Putin wanted less NATO, but he has achieved the opposite: he will have more NATO and he will have more EU. We are also getting stronger. We are speeding up the enlargement process with the Western Balkans and we took the historic decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova," he said.
President of the European Commission, in turn, described Russia’s war against Ukraine as "imperial" and assured that the EU will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
