Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, met with Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, in Kyiv for the 24th summit between the European Union and Ukraine, European Council website reports.
“The EU will be with you and your people tomorrow and for as long as it takes. We will be right by your side to rebuild a modern, prosperous Ukraine firmly anchored on our common European path,” European Council President Charles Michel states.
This was the first EU-Ukraine summit since the start of the Russian aggression, and also since the European Council granted Ukraine the status of candidate country.
The leaders discussed:
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Ukraine’s European path and the accession process
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the EU’s response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
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Ukraine’s initiatives for just peace and accountability
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cooperation on issues of reconstruction and relief and in the areas of energy and connectivity
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global food security
The leaders issued a joint statement at the end of the summit.
Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted EU candidate status in June 2022.
“We reiterated that the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies within the European Union,” EU-Ukraine joint statement reads.
The EU acknowledged the considerable efforts that Ukraine has made in recent months to meet the objectives required for its EU candidate status.
The EU will decide on further steps once Ukraine fulfils the conditions outlined in the European Commission’s opinion on its EU membership application.
The Commission will report on Ukraine’s fulfilment of the conditions as part of its regular enlargement package in 2023. Without prejudice to this comprehensive regular reporting, an update by the Commission is expected in spring 2023.
