After the summit, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed how important it was for the heads of state and government to meet in Versailles in view of the Russian attack on Ukraine. It had been a “very special summit” at a very special place – and above all at a very special time, said Scholz: “The most important thing to emerge from this summit is our determination to stand together, our determination to overcome this crisis together and jointly prevail in the future.”

In particular, Scholz once again emphasised how united Europe was in its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as demonstrated by the summit. As a result, applications by Ukraine and other countries regarding their prospects of EU membership had now been forwarded to the Commission for further assessment, said Scholz. “One thing is very clear: there is no doubt that we are all deeply moved by Ukraine as it actively seeks to become a part of Europe,” said Scholz.

Sanctions having an impact

The Federal Chancellor emphasised that the sanctions against Russia were already having an impact. “The exchange rate of the rouble has fallen dramatically, many shops have been forced to close, business developments and relationships in Russia have ceased to function in many cases, and numerous Russian citizens are now beginning to notice that there is a war in progress which Russia has instigated – and that this will have repercussions for Russia itself,” said the Federal Chancellor.

Declaration by the Heads of State and Government at their meeting in Versailles on Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine

Ukraine is a united nation

Scholz said that as a result of the current confrontation, “Ukraine is a united nation – unified in its resistance to Russia’s military aggression.” Russia itself was also a victim, he said, since it was destroying its own future. “It is not only the state that will suffer – everyone will be affected. The decision taken by the Russian President was extremely wrong and dangerous,” said Scholz.

Increasing defence readiness

In light of recent events, EUleaders held urgent discussions on the subject of defence and security and agreed to spend more on defence to boost Europe’s security. The Federal Chancellor said that “everyone – without exception” had welcomed the Federal Government's decision to spend an additional 100 billion euros on the Federal Armed Forces. Other member states were also set to increase their defence preparedness. It was clear to everyone “that our own activities are embedded in the transatlantic partnership and in our cooperation with the United States of America”, said Scholz.

Reducing dependency in the energy sector

Energy and resource security would also be a major issue for the future, said Scholz, adding that everything was being done to reduce dependence on raw material imports, especially from Russia. Together, the aim was to “gradually free ourselves from this dependency by tapping into alternative resources for our oil, gas and coal imports”, said Scholz. This includes new LNG terminals, Europe-wide interconnection of the gas and electricity grid and expansion of capacity. “At the same time, we will accelerate the phase-out of fossil resources,” said Scholz.

Keeping a close watch on the impact on the population at large and businesses

The Federal Government was keeping a close watch on rising prices for energy imports, said Scholz, since these were impacting the population at large as well as numerous businesses. In the coming weeks and months, there would be further consideration of “the measures we can take to be able to deal with this situation effectively, also taking into account the interests of citizens and businesses.” This was not an easy task, said Scholz, but one “that we are urgently seeking to address together.”