The Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Maria Tripodi, took part in the “Weimar Plus” Ministerial Meeting on European Security and Ukraine in Madrid today, upon instructions from Minister Antonio Tajani.
She said: “The world is changing fast and we need to adapt accordingly to defend our common interests and values. The European Union today faces two fundamental challenges for our future: increasing investment in collective defence and continuing to support Ukraine as an integral part of our security. On both fronts, Italy remains firmly at the forefront to build a strong European pillar of NATO that complements, without duplication of efforts, the fundamental North American pillar of the Alliance. As Minister Tajani has already stated, there can in fact be no real European security architecture without the US involvement.”
The meeting in Madrid was held between the five EU Member States involved in the “Weimar Group” (in addition to Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Poland) enlarged to include the United Kingdom, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the European Commissioner responsible for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius.