By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – European leaders including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met in Copenhagen, Denmark for two sets of meetings from October 1-2 that focused on defense issues – the informal meeting of the European Council and the European Political Community (EPC) summit. The President of the European Council Antonio Costa presided over the informal meeting of the European Council on October 1 where discussions centered on how to strengthen Europe’s common defense and support for Ukraine. The overriding theme was safeguarding the security of Europe. The October 1 meeting was chaired by Costa and hosted by Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola were also co-chairs at the meeting. Costa underscored how crucial it is to build a strong defense for Europe especially in light of Russia’s recent violations of airspace in Denmark, Poland and Estonia. Costa said that Europe is committed to facing common threats on all fronts with a common purpose – whether conventional, hybrid or cyber. To that end, leaders said that Europe is committed to building up its defense and boosting its defense readiness by 2030. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised the UK’s armed forced for “providing the hard power, not only for the defense of the UK, but for the whole of NATO.” Rutte also lauded UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his leadership on Ukraine and for “making sure that Ukraine has all the weapons they need to stay in the fight, but also be in the strongest possible position whenever peace talks start.”
Meanwhile, at the EPC summit on October 2, Rutte took part in the plenary and a roundtable discussion with European leaders and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on the issues of security and resilience. Rutte reiterated major dangers from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran while highlighting those nations’ efforts “to undermine us and tear up the rules-based order.” Rutte called for much more support for Ukraine and enhanced defense production to counter escalation risks and deter aggression. Rutte also held several bilateral meetings at the EPC with allies as well as partners including the President of Moldova Ms. Maia Sandu and Ukraine’s President Zelensky. It was noted that recently, the EU has taken decisive action to achieve its defense readiness goals including through the SAFE instrument that mobilizes up to 150 billion euros in loans and other means to channel joint investments that benefit Europe’s security, overall. On October 2, EU leaders also discussed progress on the nine priorty areas in the defense sector that they identified in March 2025. Those included air and missile defense, artillery, drones and anti-drone systems, military mobility and cyber resilience. Costa said that the majority of leaders supported priority flagships presented by the Commission and the High Representative that include the European Drone Wall and the Eastern Flank Watch. President Costa emphasized the need for increased coordination to keep track of progress, highlighting that defense ministers need to play a greater role in moving work forward between European Council meetings and tracking milestones. A major goal of the EPC is the demonstration of a shared political will working for the peace, development and prosperity of European societies and its citizens.
