Toledo, Spain 30.08.2023 The city of Toledo hosts the informal ministerial meeting on defence, which takes place at the city’s Fábrica de Armas historic settings.

The acting Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, hosts the meeting, which chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

The informal ministerial meeting on defence focuses on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, its global and regional effects and the situation in Niger.

Josep Borrell requests that the governments of the European Union assist Ukraine “more and faster.” “Faster and faster,” he repeated emphatically in Toledo this Wednesday, August 30, trying to coin that expression “as my motto,” the EU top diplomat said.

Borrell has referred to the effort that, with EU co-payment, he is asking Europe’s armies in the form of ammunition and military equipment. At the end of the informal meeting of Defense Ministers, within the framework of the Spanish presidency of the European Council, the the EU top diplomat pointed out that the amount of the European Peace Support Fund, €5 billion annually, “is a ceiling, not a spending target”.

That is why he hopes that this Thursday, August 31, at the Foreign ministers Council, the will to reach an agreement “before the end of the year” for the first part of his aid plan will be strengthened: extending this “system of support” in the period 2024-2027.