The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived this Saturday morning in the capital of Ukraine to discuss the country’s accession process to the European Union (EU) and sanctions against Moscow.
Ursula von der Leyen was received by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi train station at 9:45 local time (7:45 in Lisbon).
It’s good to be back in kyiv for my sixth wartime visit.
I am here to discuss Ukraine’s accession path to the EU.
EU financial support to rebuild Ukraine as a modern and prosperous democracy.
And how we will continue to make Russia pay for its war of aggression. pic.twitter.com/dLJ6bUz4UU
– Úrsula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 4, 2023
The Chairman of the Commission and the Ukrainian President paid tribute to the Ukrainian railway workers, who since the beginning of the Russian invasion more than a year and a half ago, have provided one of the only routes into and across the country.
“I always carry with me a series of issues that need to be addressed. Let’s start with the question of enlargement. [da UE], specifically the Ukrainian accession process. Then we will talk about financial support, military support for Ukraine and also issues related to the twelfth sanctions package,” von der Leyen said during her trip to Kiev on Friday evening to a group of journalists accompanying the visit, including Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), which acts as a “pool” for the European newsroom, of which Lusa is a part.
On the train trip to the capital of Ukraine, the president of the European Commission acknowledged that “it is true that the world’s attention is more focused on the Middle East,” but she had planned this visit “a long time ago.”
The visit, which is von der Leyen’s sixth since the start of the Russian invasion, was scheduled before the European Commission presented the report on the democratic reforms that Ukraine has made since becoming a candidate country for membership, since June last year, so that the European Council can decide in December whether to go ahead with formal negotiations with the country.
Source: TSF
