Statement by the Commission following the second videoconference called by US President Joe Biden on the situation relating to Ukraine

This afternoon, President von der Leyen took part in the second videoconference hosted by US President Joe Biden to take stock of developments in the crisis caused by Russia’s aggressive behaviour vis à vis Ukraine, and to discuss ongoing close efforts to ensure a united and effective response.

The leaders assessed the significant diplomatic outreach to Russia to convince it to de-escalate the crisis and choose the path of dialogue.

They also underscored their resolute support to Ukraine. This includes in particular the speedy progress made in the final adoption of the support package of €1.2 billion in the form of an emergency financial assistance package.

The leaders took note of their ongoing detailed cooperation in the finalisation of massive sanctions against Russia. President von der Leyen described the state-of-play on the sectoral and individual sanctions in the case of further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine. She reaffirmed the fact that all options were on the table and that sanctions would concern the financial and energy sectors, as well as exports of high-tech products.

In parallel, the Commission has continued its work on preparedness in particular in the area of energy, reaching out to the EU’s partners in order to ensure additional supplies of natural gas / LNG in case of delivery disruptions by Russia. The President thanked President Joe Biden for his support in these efforts.

Finally, the President noted the need to continue fighting Russian disinformation through effective strategic communication efforts.