R. Karoblis underscored that after getting the health crisis under control, discussions had to be renewed on conventional threats and challenges caused by the Russian aggression, militarisation at the EU and NATO borders, unstable southern neighbourhood, cyber-attacks, and disinformation. The EU needs to come up with practical ways to strengthen its security, therefore member states should go back to implementing their Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) commitments and accelerate the implementation. According to Minister, one of the most crucial commitments is to increase national defence budgets and focus on investments that alone enable real enhancement of defence capabilities. “Speaking of the EU ambition to consolidate the credibility of European defence initiatives, they had to be granted sufficient financing in the EU Multiannual Financial Framework of 2021–2027. “Military mobility is crucial in this context. The EU has to live up to its promises to the transatlantic community,” R. Karoblis said.
Ministers also stressed the need to strengthen the Common Security and Defence Policy and to tap into the potential of the EU defence initiatives better by increasing their compatibility and allocating enough resources and efforts to implement them. Other topics discussed were strengthening the ongoing EU missions and operations, and closer NATO-EU cooperation as an important priority in the geopolitical and economic environment affected by the pandemic.
