Germany's Scholz pledges to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes"

Germany will keep up its support for Kyiv "for as long as it takes", Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, calling for an enlargement of the European Union to eventually include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Faced with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Scholz urged the EU's 27 members to "close ranks, resolve old conflicts and find new solutions", setting out his vision for the future of Europe in a speech at the Charles University in Prague.

Germany will keep up its support for Kyiv "for as long as it takes", Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, calling for an enlargement of the European Union to eventually include Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.

Faced with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Scholz urged the EU's 27 members to "close ranks, resolve old conflicts and find new solutions", setting out his vision for the future of Europe in a speech at the Charles University in Prague. "Our Europe is united in peace and freedom and is open to all European nations who share our values," he said.

Germany had undergone a "fundamental change of heart" in recent months on its military support for Ukraine, he said. "We will keep up this support, reliably and, above all, for as long as it takes," he told the packed university audience.

Scholz announced a paradigm shift in German foreign and defense policy in February, pledging to ramp up military spending, but his junior coalition partners have grown vexed that Berlin has been too slow to send Ukraine heavy weapons. Scholz used his Prague speech, entitled "Europe is our future", to promise that Germany would send Ukraine state-of-the-art weapons, such as air defense and radar systems and reconnaissance drones, in the coming weeks and months.

Germany could also assume responsibility for building up Ukraine's artillery and air defense capacities, he said. Pressing the case for EU enlargement, he said a gradual transition to majority voting was a stepping stone to growing the bloc, adding that "we must bring the clout of our united Europe much more strongly to bear."

He underlined Germany's commitment to EU enlargement and said the countries of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, and eventually, also, Georgia should join the bloc. Acknowledging that an expanded EU would bring greater differences between member states, he suggested a reform of its voting practices.

"Where unanimity is required today, the risk of an individual country using its veto and preventing all the others from forging ahead increases with each additional member state," Scholz added. "I have therefore proposed a gradual transition to majority voting in common foreign policy, but also in other areas, such as tax policy – knowing full well that this would also have repercussions for Germany," he said.

Turning to the EU's passport-free Schengen area, Scholz said Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria all met its requirements. "I will work to see them become full members," he added.