Saturday, June 11, 2022

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, came to Kiev


"The Ukrainian people made a considerable contribution to the defense of freedom and values shared with the European Union," - said President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv after the meeting with Ursula von der Leyen. - "I am deeply moved by the Ukrainian people's strength and courage," - said the head of the European Commission (EC).

She added that fighting is still going on in Ukraine, "but I also see that life is reviving here, people are returning to Kyiv, bridges are being rebuilt, rubble is being cleared away."

"I came here for a working meeting to talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine, reforming this country and the opinion prepared by the European Commission on Ukraine's application for accession to the EU" - said von der Leyen in a statement for the media, delivered next to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky stressed that during the Russian invasion, Ukraine and its institutions proved that they were integrated with the European environment.

"I very much appreciate Ukraine's determination on the road to accession to the European Union, the path to membership is known and based on specific determinants" - said the President of the EC in Kiev.

"The Commission is working intensively on completing its assessment of Ukraine's application to the EU, this is what I talked about on Saturday in Kiev, and these talks will allow us to finish this document by the end of next week" - she noted. 

Von der Leyen praised, among others, the efficiency of the Ukrainian administration, which functions at all levels despite the war, and the country's digitization process. She added that Ukraine has done much regarding the rule of law but that further reforms are necessary to fight corruption and attract more investment.

"I am convinced that together we will survive this cruel, criminal war, and that the Ukrainian people, with our help, will rebuild and modernize this beautiful country," said the head of the European Commission.