First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska together with Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva held a meeting with a delegation of women – leaders of the EU countries responsible for the European direction of their states. The delegation was headed by Vice-President of the European Parliament Nicola Beer (Federal Republic of Germany). The delegation included: Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution of the Republic of Austria Karoline Edtstadler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education, and Sport of the Principality of Liechtenstein Dominique Hasler, Minister of State for Europe and Climate of the Federal Republic of Germany Anna Lührmann, State Secretary for Europe of the Republic of Croatia Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, State Secretary for EU of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Daniela Gitman, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Gunda Reire and Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Jovita Neliupšienė.
The President's wife thanked the interlocutors for the significant help from their countries to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Important support for millions of forced temporary migrants from Ukraine who found refuge in EU countries was separately noted.
"We are grateful for the creation of conditions for the integration of children from Ukraine into the educational system of European countries, as well as for the opportunity to learn the language of the host country," Olena Zelenska emphasized.
The First Lady outlined the key directions of her activities to support the most vulnerable sections of the population, as well as those Ukrainians who suffered the most from the war.
For his part, Ihor Zhovkva thanked the represented countries for their reliable support of Ukraine's European integration course.
"Granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership is not only a strong political signal of support. This plays an important moral and psychological role for every Ukrainian and is an integral part of Ukraine's great victory over terrorist Russia," he noted.
The Deputy Head of the President's Office told European high-ranking officials about the status of implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission necessary for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union and called on European countries to increase sanctions pressure on the aggressor country and act as a guarantor of security for our state.