BRUSSELS—The European Union must back Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion, the bloc’s designated foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a confirmation hearing Tuesday.
“The situation on the battlefield is difficult. And that’s why we must keep working every day,” the former Estonian prime minister told EU lawmakers in Brussels.
“Today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes and with as much military, financial and humanitarian help as needed.”
A hawkish critic of Russia, the 47-year-old Kallas requires a parliamentary green light to succeed Josep Borrell as the bloc’s foreign policy chief, though her confirmation is in little doubt since she was tapped for the role directly by EU leaders.
She is one of six designated vice presidents in EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission facing lawmakers’ scrutiny on Tuesday, the final day of a week-long hearings process.
Kallas said the bloc’s support “must be underpinned by a clear path for Ukraine to join the EU,” warning that “what we fight for here is European security and European principles”.
Brussels opened accession negotiations with Kyiv in June, setting the war-torn country on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block.
Europe has spent around $125 billion on supporting Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, while the United States has provided some $90 billion, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute, a German research body.
Kallas’ predecessor Borrell on Saturday pledged the bloc’s “unwavering” support for Ukraine, on the first visit by a top EU official since Donald Trump’s US election victory.
His imminent return to the presidency has set nerves jangling in Ukraine and Europe that Trump could end Washington’s support for Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion.
