War between Russia and Ukraine makes Europeans realize importance of strength - Borrell

"You start thinking in terms of power when you feel the heat of war – or the heat of the threat. That is why the war in Ukraine has transformed Europe. It has made us be in touch with power. For the first time since the Second World War, danger threat, fear have materialised in an indisputable way," said Borrell during a speech at a meeting organized by the Council on Foreign Relations in the corridors of the UN General Assembly.

According to him, the brutality of the Russian invasion has helped Europeans reach a unified understanding of the threat because, for a time, the Russian threat did not hold the same significance in Riga and Lisbon.

Borrell explained that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has put Europeans in the position of needing to adapt to the reality of the use of force in Europe.

"We come from a very far away idea of power. We were a benevolent soft power. Now we are a hard power in the making. This is going to take a long time. We will not be a superpower, as you are, but let's try to be a power. Let's try to have the capacity to mobilize our troops, all together. We are a power in the making, because we want to have a certain capacity to coerce our foes – directly or indirectly," Borrell noted.

In his view, NATO will continue to be the foundation of European security, but for the EU, the issue of strengthening strategic autonomy is currently relevant, which means developing the defense capabilities of European countries.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, stated during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly that Russia's aggressive war threatens not only the people of Ukraine but every European citizen. The European Union will fulfill its commitment to returning the country to a just and lasting peace.