The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the Schuman Declaration this Tuesday in Kiev. Together with the Ukrainian president, the head of the community’s executive branch said it was “an honor” to celebrate the date of May 9 in Kiev, which is now referred to as “Europe Day” in Ukraine.
“Ukraine is at the forefront of defending everything we Europeans stand for: our freedom, our democracy, our freedom of thought and expression. Ukraine is courageously fighting for the ideals of the Europe that is celebrated today,” he said.
In response to Volodymyr Zelensky’s request for the European Union to punish Russia with new measures, the Commission President said that Brussels had the eleventh series of sanctions on the table since Friday.
“The focus of this package is on circumventing sanctions [e] we are perfecting our instruments and adding more products to the banned list,” von der Leyen said, citing as an example “advanced technology products or aircraft parts destined for Russia, via third countries [que] will no longer end up in the hands of the Kremlin.”
The head of the community administrator left a warning for anyone who collaborates with Vladimir Putin. “If it turns out that goods leave the European Union to third countries and then end up in Russia, we can propose that member states approve the export of these goods,” he said.
“There is no doubt that we are fighting the circumvention of sanctions,” said the president of the European Commission, with the caveat that action against third countries will be “cautious” and subject to careful evaluation by member states.
Faced with the expectations of the Ukrainian government regarding accession to the European Union, von der Leyen stated that work still needs to be continued.
“Ukraine is working tirelessly and intensely on the seven criteria, despite the difficulties of implementing reforms in the midst of an all-out war, but I would like to express my deep respect for this extraordinary work,” he said, stressing, however, that “the work must Get on”.
The Commission President stated that in about a month’s time, in June, the European Commission will deliver an oral opinion to the Council and present a formal report in October, according to von der Leyen, “more importantly”, on Ukraine’s progress in the criteria for accession to the European Union.
Source: DN
