PM for EU´s moving away from critical dependencies on China

Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Friday emphasised the need for the European Union to move away from its critical dependencies on China, said a government press release.

“China is less and less a partner to Europe and increasingly a competitor and challenger. We need to have a serious discussion, especially about Europe’s technological dependence on China and China’s investments in strategic sectors in Europe. It is crucial that we reduce these dependencies on China,” said the Premier at the European Council (EC) summit in Brussels.

The EU leaders strongly condemned Russia’s war of aggression and expressed their strong support for Ukraine at the two-day summit ended on Friday.

They condemned Russia’s attacks on civilians and infrastructure and demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine immediately.

The EU leaders reiterated their commitment to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary and their resolve to bring Russia and all the perpetrators to justice.

The European Council urged Belarus to stop supporting Russia’s war of aggression and strongly condemned Iran’s arms assistance to Russia.

The EU leaders reiterated that Russia alone is responsible for the global food security crisis, which it has provoked by weaponising food in its war against Ukraine.

The European Council also strongly condemned the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and other infrastructure.

The Union will respond in a united and determined manner to disruptions to critical infrastructure and other hybrid activities.

The European Council called on the EU Member States to rapidly improve resilience to disruptions in their critical infrastructure in cooperation with other Member States and the European Commission, for example.

In its discussion on external relations, the Council condemned the use of force by Iranian authorities against peaceful demonstrators, especially women.

Earlier on Thursday, on the first day of the meeting, the Council agreed on measures to mitigate the energy crisis.

The EU leaders reaffirmed that, in the face of Russia’s weaponisation of energy, the European Union would remain united in supporting its citizens and businesses.

The Council agreed that the Union would accelerate and ramp up efforts to reduce demand, ensure security of supply and lower energy prices for households and businesses. The EU leaders called for urgent decisions on joint purchasing of gas in order to fill storage and ensure security of supply across Europe, temporary measures to manage gas prices, energy solidarity arrangements between Member States in case of gas supply disruptions and efforts to reduce energy consumption.

“Today’s (Thursday) discussion was not easy, because each Member State is dealing with a different energy situation. However, we managed to take important steps towards common solutions,” said Marin.

“By promoting joint gas purchases and temporary price mitigation mechanisms and by reducing energy consumption, we can work towards ensuring the availability of affordable energy across Europe. Along with these measures, it is now essential to invest heavily in the green transition so we will be more energy self-sufficient in the coming winters,” she added.