Michel: the EU summit will focus on decisions in support of Ukraine, hopefully with the start of accession talks
Kyiv • UNN
President of the European Council Charles Michel wants to strengthen support for Kyiv and assures that European leaders are "determined to continue supporting Ukraine"
European Council President Charles Michel said that EU leaders will focus a lot of efforts at the December summit to take additional decisions in support of Ukraine, including political ones, as he hopes, with the start of accession talks. He said this on France Inter on Wednesday, assuring that European leaders are "determined to continue supporting Ukraine," UNN reports.
European leaders are determined to support Ukraine because our democratic model, our fundamental values, those that formed the basis of the European project are at stake,
He reminded that "in two weeks" the 27 heads of state and government "will focus a lot of efforts to take additional decisions in support of Ukraine, at the financial and military level, as well as at the political level, with, I hope, the start of accession negotiations" during the EU summit in mid-December in Brussels.
"Many people thought that Ukraine would collapse in a few days or a few weeks. (...) It is resisting, and I think it is unfair to talk about a military failure," he said, pointing to the successes of the Ukrainian military on the left bank of the Dnipro River and the fact that Ukraine has regained control of its territorial waters in the Black Sea. "We need a nuanced approach to this issue, an objective analysis. We see that without our support, we would not be where we are today, and the question is not whether we should reduce this support, but how we can accelerate and strengthen this support," Michel said.
Michel also praised the efforts of European countries, which have shown themselves to be "remarkably united" since the beginning of the conflict. He recognizes that this is not easy, the publication points out. He explains, for example, that the financial support from 27 countries "suggests that European governments are committed to continuing to mobilize resources." "Large-scale sanctions against Russia may have side effects, including for ourselves," he added. Despite these difficulties, Michel insisted on the determination of European leaders to continue supporting Ukraine.
As a reminder,
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell saidthat he sees no signs of "fatigue" among the bloc's member states and is confident that support for Ukraine will continue.
