PRESS RELEASE: Prime Minister urges Europe to ‘stand firm’ against Russian aggression ahead of regional summit [October 2022]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 6 October 2022.
- Prime Minister to attend European leaders’ meeting in Prague to galvanise the response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
- Liz Truss will hold talks on securing UK energy supply and tackling migration, and will encourage allies to end energy dependence on Russia
- UK will play a leading role in the summit to drive international action on national priorities
The Prime Minister will urge leaders to stand united in the face of Russian aggression as Europe faces “its biggest crisis since the Second World War”, when she addresses a regional summit in the Czech Republic today [6th October].
Liz Truss will attend the meeting of leaders from across Europe to shore up support for Ukraine and galvanise collective action on energy security and migration, delivering on UK priorities.
In a series of bilateral meetings and plenary sessions in Prague, the Prime Minister will encourage countries to go further and faster to end Europe’s reliance on Russian hydrocarbons and “usher in a new era of resilience and independence.”
She will call on leaders to commit at the summit to keeping gas and electricity interconnectors open this winter and is expected to hold talks on joint projects to develop new nuclear and offshore wind capacity.
The Prime Minister will also meet key countries on the migration route, including the leaders of France and the Netherlands, to drive progress on joint operations to disrupt criminal gangs profiting from illegal migration.
Prime Minister Liz Truss will tell the opening plenary session in Prague:
Europe is facing its biggest crisis since the Second World War. And we have faced it together with unity and resolve.
We must continue to stand firm – to ensure that Ukraine wins this war, but also to deal with the strategic challenges that it has exposed.
The Prime Minister is expected to set out that the UK has continued to play a leading role in Europe outside the European Union, demonstrated by the response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The UK has forged new defensive alliances through the Joint Expeditionary Force and bolstered regional security as the largest European contributor to NATO. This week, the UK deployed Royal Navy frigate HMS Enterprise to the North Sea to work with Norway on protecting critical national energy infrastructure, following the shocking sabotage on the Nordstream 1 & 2 pipelines.
Speaking at the opening of the summit, the Prime Minister will say we need to:
…learn the lessons of the war. The threat was left to fester for far too long. Now, at last, we are tackling Putin’s aggression head on.
And we should take the same approach with other challenges before us – including longstanding regional issues like energy and migration.
Instead of the old approach which merely dealt with the symptoms, it’s time to address the fundamental causes.
The European Political Community meeting in Prague is an opportunity for leaders from across the continent, including EU and non-EU states, to work together to address urgent shared challenges.
The Prime Minister is expected address the opening plenary session and attend a working group on energy security, as well as holding a series of bilateral talks and informal meetings with leaders.
