Ukraine needs ‘stable, predictable funding’ in 2024 and beyond to win war, European Commission president says Ursula von der Leyen drawing attention to the risk of tiring Kiev’s allies in the face of Russian aggression.

“Ukraine can win this war,” said the president of the Commission from the World Economic Forum in Davos. “But we have to continue to give her the means to fight back.”

“Ukrainians need predictable funding throughout 2024 and beyond,” he said two weeks before a European summit that will focus on European aid to Kiev, an undertaking made difficult by the threat of a Hungarian veto.

“They need a continuous and efficient supply of arms to defend their country and reclaim their legitimate territories,” he said.

Recalling that the European Union decided in December to start accession negotiations with Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen stated that Ukrainian accession will be a historic step for the country and a response to the call of history for Europe.

Addressing a warning about attempts at disinformation, particularly numerous in the case of Ukraine, the president of the Commission insisted on Russia’s defeats since the beginning of its invasion against Ukraine.

“Russia has not achieved its strategic goals (…) Russia has failed economically. Sanctions have isolated its economy from new technologies and innovation. Finally, Russia has failed at the diplomatic level,” he said, referring to Finland’s NATO membership, soon to be followed by Sweden.

Artificial Intelligence

The European Union must redouble its efforts to catch up with the global race of Artificial Intelligence, “a new frontier of competitiveness”, warned the president of the Commission.

“…the race is already on: our future competitiveness depends on the integration of Artificial Intelligence into our daily activities,” she said during her speech from the floor of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Artificial Intelligence can boost productivity at an unprecedented rate to date (…) It is the new frontier of competitiveness. And Europe is well-positioned to champion industrial AI, used to transform critical infrastructure.”

While the United States and China are currently leading the development of these technologies, “Europe should redouble efforts and show the way for a responsible use of Artificial Intelligence”, he added.

Referring to legislation agreed in December after intensive negotiations to establish a regulatory framework for Artificial Intelligence, Ursula von der Leyen said it “establishes a climate of trust” by separating “high-risk” situations and allowing innovation in all other areas. .

The European Union has “200,000 engineers with experience in Artificial Intelligence, which is a higher concentration than the US and China,” he said.

All 27 have a huge competitive advantage in the field of industrial data by offering the ability to “train systems using data of unparalleled quality.”

“We want to invest there” and favor the access of European start-ups and SMEs to the continent’s supercomputers, as well as to “common data spaces in all the languages ​​of the European Union”, so that Artificial Intelligence “works as well for the non-English speakers”, emphasized the President of the Commission.