President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen’s Visit to Kiev: Enlargement, Support for Ukraine, and the War with Russia

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visits Kiev. The mission to the Ukrainian capital had not been announced in advance for security reasons.

“Every time I come to Ukraine I feel a certain feeling of tension because it is a war zone, but I also have a firm belief that I am bringing encouragement and reassuring Ukraine: we are firmly at their side,” von der Leyen said, at pool of agencies of the European Newsroom, of which ANSA is part, upon his arrival in Kiev. “I have many topics to talk about, starting with enlargement and Ukraine’s request to become part of the EU. We will also talk about financial and military support for Kiev and the twelfth package of sanctions” against Moscow, he highlighted.

Ukraine has made “excellent progress” with a view to joining the EU, “we will witness this next week, when the Commission presents its report on enlargement”, explained the president of the community executive during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I want to tell you how impressed we are with the reforms you have made while you are fighting an existential war,” von der Leyen stressed, saying she was “confident” that by completing the reforms Ukraine can “move to the next stage of the accession process.”

“We will present a proposal” on the use of frozen Russian sovereign assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine “before the end of the year,” von der Leyen announced. “We will continue to make Russia pay for its war of aggression”, he said, highlighting that the proposal “will be well aligned with the G7 partners” and is the result of “intense work” conducted by the EU together with member countries “in a working group throughout the last month”.

The war against Russia is “not stalled”, Ukrainian President Zelensky said. “Time has passed and today people are tired, but this is not a stalemate,” Zelensky explained, underlining the need to “protect the population.” “We can’t even think about defeat. There is no alternative,” he added. “It is a very important moment, the moment in which we are waiting for the political decision on Ukraine for the start of EU accession negotiations. This decision will have a fundamental role in the history not only of Ukraine but of entire Europe”. With the start of negotiations, he underlined, “we will guarantee new foundations for the growth of Ukraine and all European countries” and “we will guarantee true economic and social security for our country and the Ukrainian people”.

Next Tuesday the European Commission will present its traditional enlargement package, made up of reports on the progress made over the last year by countries aspiring to join the EU. Among these is Ukraine, which Brussels recognized as a candidate country in June 2022, the first formal stage of the accession process. According to what we understand, the EU executive could decide to recommend to the European Council to proceed with the start of negotiations with Kiev, thus moving on to the next phase of the process, characterized by the alignment of the Ukrainian national system with the EU one. The step should, however, be accompanied by some conditions linked to reforms in the country, especially in the field of the fight against corruption and the protection of minorities. The member countries will then be called to express their opinions unanimously, with a green light that could arrive at the last EU summit of the year, scheduled for 14 and 15 December. Von der Leyen’s services are currently busy completing the report on Ukraine, which will be at the center of today’s talks between the EU president and Zelensky. In recent weeks and months, European sources observe, the debate has also extended to what the EU will have to do to be ready to welcome Kiev. This, it is explained, demonstrates that there is a “geostrategic interest” in enlargement for the EU because “after the war no country can any longer find itself in the middle” between Europe and Russia.

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2023-11-04 13:25:00
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