The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointed out this Saturday to the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, that his country has made “excellent progress” on its path towards eventual accession to the EU, and has shown its confidence that Kiev can advance to the next stage of the process if it completes some “pending” reforms.
“I must say that they have made excellent progress, it is something impressive to see and we will witness it next week when the Commission presents its report on enlargement,” said the German in the Ukrainian capital, where she has traveled for the sixth time since Russian aggression against the country began.
Von der Leyen has highlighted that Ukraine is “profoundly reforming” in the midst of an “existential” war and has cited, in particular, the reform of the judicial system and measures to reduce the power of oligarchs and combat money laundering.
“This is the result of hard work and I know they are in the process of completing pending renovations. If this happens, and I trust, Ukraine will be able to achieve its ambitious goal of moving to the next stage in the accession process,” added the head of the Community Executive, before stating that this will be the message that she will later convey to the Ukrainian Rada. (the Parlament).
The European Commission is scheduled to present next Wednesday a report on the progress made by the countries that are candidates to join the EU in the future, with the question of whether Brussels will recommend that the Member States take a step further in the case of Ukraine, which would mean opening accession negotiations.
At his side, Zelensky has highlighted that Von der Leyen’s visit occurs “at a historic moment” in which Ukraine awaits a “political decision” from Brussels “on the beginning of the country’s negotiations for accession to the EU”
“Ukraine does not ask for any reduction (in requirements) on its way to the EU,” emphasized the Ukrainian president, who also assured that Kiev has “implemented the recommendations” and has been optimistic about the possibilities of receiving a positive response. which, as he said, would be a morale boost for Ukrainian society and for the soldiers fighting “for EU values” on the front.
Von der Leyen has highlighted the “important steps” that Ukraine has taken to rebuild and modernize its economy, while recalling that the EU has supported these efforts with almost 83 billion in financial assistance so far, to which another 3 billion will be added. million before the end of the year.
“But of course, more and more predictable financing is necessary to meet current needs,” said the German, referring to the new package of 50 billion in financial assistance for Kiev until 2027 that is still in the negotiation phase between the Member States. and is blocked because it is part of a broader budget review that divides the club’s members.
