President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks in Kyiv with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who is on a visit to our country.
In the course of the meeting with media representatives following the negotiations, the Head of State emphasized that today, the EU countries celebrate Europe Day, which follows the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II.
“Our Europe became possible thanks to the victory over the evil of aggression and the ideology of hatred. Our Europe, which is based on respect for peoples and unites different nations not by subjugation, but by our common values, became possible precisely when the evil of aggression was defeated,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President noted that Ukraine will always be grateful to all those who fought against Nazism and gained the victory.
“The victory opened up a historic space for unifying efforts in Europe, and it is important that it was obvious then what the efforts for peace - for the sake of our Europe - should be like,” he added.
The Head of State quoted the first sentence of the Schuman Declaration: "World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative Efforts – proportionate to the dangers which threaten it."
“Now that we are once again jointly confronting the evil of aggression and the policy of hatred that modern Russia has brought back to the continent, when we once again need to win, we are once again turning to the meaning of those words from the Schuman Declaration. Our efforts for a united Europe, for security and peace must be as strong as Russia's desire to destroy our security, our freedom, our Europe. We must act together proportionally to the threat, not weaker, to defeat this evil of aggression. So that new generations of Europeans can also celebrate Europe Day in peace, and not just remember that there was once such a holiday, that there was once peace on the continent,” the President stressed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ukraine's partners for protecting the European continent and the values of freedom. He also thanked the President of the European Commission for the powerful decisions that are necessary for the whole of Europe.
“Today we have met in particular to make such strong decisions. The first is defense. The second is our further unification. The third is the resolution of existing contradictions. As for defense: Ukraine demonstrates the effectiveness of our defense against Russian aggression every day. Every downed terrorist missile, every success of our warriors in repelling Russian onslaught proves that we can defeat this aggressor. The main thing is the proportionality of our capabilities to those of the aggressor,” the Head of State said.
In this context, the President expressed gratitude to Ursula von der Leyen for the readiness of the EU to provide Ukraine with necessary ammunition - 1 million artillery shells. He noted that at the meeting with the President of the European Commission, they discussed the speed of procurement and supply of ammunition.
The leaders also touched upon the issue of sanctions against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.
“We look forward to the adoption of the eleventh sanctions package in the near future, and its component should be sanctions against the nuclear industry of the terrorist state. Then the strength of this package will be proportionate to the level of threat,” the President said.
The meeting also concerned steps to further unite Ukraine and the European Union.
“The time has long since come to remove the artificial political uncertainty in relations between Ukraine and the European Union. It is time for a positive decision to launch negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union. Our values, security, our prosperity, peace on the continent - all of this can be realized to the fullest extent for Europe only together with Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The Head of State stressed that our country expects to receive a positive interim assessment of Ukraine's progress on the path of European integration by the European Commission in June.
The President of Ukraine and the President of the European Commission discussed the situation with the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.
“We have a mutual agreement on the importance of Ukrainian contribution to global food security and we have common examples of success in the food sector, including our Grain from Ukraine program and our Solidarity Lanes,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The Head of State emphasized that Ukraine is facing problems today in the issue where Europe should demonstrate strong solidarity proportionate to the existing threats.
“Tough, even brutal for the time of war, protectionist measures from our neighbors cannot but disappoint, to put it mildly. Any restrictions on our exports now are absolutely unacceptable. Because it does not strengthen all of us in Europe, but only strengthens the capabilities of the aggressor,” the Head of State said.
The President noted that Ukraine proposes to establish an advisory group to monitor the relevant issues and to refrain from making any decisions on trade without consulting our country.
“We expect strong, European decisions from the EU and the lifting of all restrictions as soon as possible. If there is political will, and our negotiations today show that there is such will, we will be able to find optimal and truly strong solutions that will protect the interests of both Europe as a whole and Ukrainians, who, on top of that, suffer from export restrictions imposed on us,” the Head of State emphasized.
For her part, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that she was pleased to be in Kyiv on May 9, which was proclaimed Europe Day on the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We warmly welcome your decision to make May 9 Europe Day in Ukraine. Kyiv, as the capital of Ukraine, is the heart that beats in unison with European values. Ukraine is at the forefront of the struggle for everything we in Europe love: our freedom and democracy. Brave Ukraine is fighting for the ideals of Europe," said Ursula von der Leyen.
According to her, Vladimir Putin's regime has destroyed these values in Russia and is trying to do the same in Ukraine because it is afraid of the successful example that our country is setting on its way to the European Union.
"But the aggressor has already made a huge mistake. Ukraine has withstood this attack and is successfully fighting back because Ukrainian society is free. Millions of brave Ukrainians are fighting for their European values, while the invaders are sending people from prisons to the frontline," she stated.
The President of the European Commission assured that the European Union stands with Ukraine in its struggle. According to her, May 9 also symbolizes the solidarity born from the lessons of the great conflicts of the twentieth century, which is the foundation of democracy. Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that Ukraine can rely on the solidarity of Europe for as long as it takes.
According to the President of the European Commission, today's meeting focused, among other things, on the urgent provision of the necessary amount of ammunition to Ukraine and an increase in its production.
The parties also discussed the continuation of financial support for Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen recalled the decision to provide €18 billion in aid in 2023, of which Ukraine has already received €6 billion to support budget programs. The issue of financial assistance in the following years is also being considered.
The President of the European Commission assured that work is underway to increase sanctions pressure on Russia to stop its military machine.
"We have reduced imports from Russia by almost two-thirds, depriving it of important revenues. Thanks to ten successful sanctions packages, the Kremlin is already paying a heavy price. And last Friday, the European Commission adopted proposals for the 11th sanctions package, which focuses on tackling the circumvention of restrictive measures," she said.
In the context of Ukraine's fulfillment of the seven steps to start negotiations on EU membership, Ursula von der Leyen noted that our country is working tirelessly to achieve this despite the difficulties of implementing reforms in the midst of war.
"I would like to express my deepest respect for this work. Please know that you can rely on our expertise and support in this ongoing process," the President of the European Commission emphasized.
