European Council President Charles Michel underlined this Friday in Kiev that Ukraine’s future lies in the European Union (EU), referring to the 27 not being intimidated by Russia and pressuring Moscow to end the war to end.
“Ukraine’s future lies in the EU,” Michel said, emphasizing that “Ukraine is the EU and the EU is Ukraine,” at a news conference in Kiev that was postponed to the 24th for security reasons. Top Ukraine.
In the same speech, the representative assured that the country’s future lies “in our common European Union”.
Michel also reiterated European support for Kiev in the conflict with Russia, adding that “the EU will not be intimidated by the Kremlin” and will remain alongside Ukraine in efforts to end the war and “determined to help the country” win on the battlefield”.
The President of the European Council also reiterated in his speech that Brussels remains committed to using sanctions frozen since the beginning of the aggression against Russia to finance the reconstruction of the country.
In the joint statement adopted at the end of the meeting, the EU “recognizes the considerable efforts made by Ukraine in recent months to achieve the objectives underlying its status as a candidate country”, and encourages the country to continue on the path of reform, despite difficulties, to “fulfill the conditions specified in the Commission’s opinion on its membership application to move towards future EU membership”.
In the statement, Brussels emphasizes the need to implement reforms in various areas, such as the judiciary, and welcomes the progress made in the fight against corruption and reiterates its “readiness to further assist Ukraine in its reform efforts and in their implementation”.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Ukrainian Head of State, Volodymyr Zelensky, took part in the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit today in Kiev, which was dominated by the Russian invasion of the country, which began almost a year ago year, and through the accession process to the European bloc.
The European Council granted candidate country status to Ukraine in June 2022, months after the Russian invasion on 24 February.
Zelensky promises not to miss a single day of EU membership
Volodymyr Zelensky has promised that his country will not miss “a single day” on its way to joining the European Union.
Hosting leaders for an EU summit with Ukraine in Kiev, Zelensky was still determined to take advantage of the negotiations that will continue for years to come, in a bid to place his country in the European community.
“Our goal is absolutely clear: to start negotiations for Ukraine’s accession. We will not waste a day working to bring Ukraine and the EU closer together,” Zelensky wrote on the social network Twitter, in a post accompanied by images of the coming leaders Europeans to the capital of their country.
With regard to resistance to the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian president took the opportunity to insist on the need for faster deliveries of long-range weapons to recapture the territory of Donbass under Russian occupation.
Zelensky assured that he is determined to defend Bakhmut’s “fortress” no matter how long it takes in what is currently the main epicenter of the battle, but admitted that he needs more and better military equipment soon.
“If arms deliveries are accelerated, especially long-range weapons, not only will we not withdraw from Bakhmut, but we will also start salvaging Donbass,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people — 6.5 million internally displaced persons and nearly eight million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
Source: DN
