With the background sound of anti-aircraft sirens, a summit that was as symbolic as it was decisive was held this Friday. The leaders of the EU, led by Von der Leyen, did not limit themselves to taking a family photo, but also announced sanctions against Russian refined oil (starting on February 24, the day of the first anniversary of the invasion), a new economic support to sustain Ukraine, a plan to integrate the country as a privileged partner of the EU (not yet as a member) and a figure of 320 tanks (offered by French sources) as the total number of units committed to kyiv from European arsenals.
Charles Michel defined the spirit of the meeting with a sentence: “We are not afraid of the Kremlin and we are not going to be intimidated by them.” To which he added: “Ukraine is the EU, the EU is Ukraine.” Zelensky called for more punitive measures against Russia from the European Union, but the new sanctions the bloc is preparing for the anniversary will not meet all the demands of the Ukrainian government. “We see today that the pace of sanctions in Europe has slowed down a bit,” he said.
Zelenski was also disappointed with the times that the EU estimates for his entry into the community club. “I think Ukraine deserves to start EU accession negotiations this year,” he said. But for Ursula von der Leyen and the rest of the European leaders there can be no shortcuts, and the process must include all the necessary reforms even if it is a country at war against a nuclear power. Ukraine’s neighbor Poland took 20 years to join in 2004.
The leaders of the European Union applaud the anti-corruption measures of the kyiv government, which in recent weeks has dismantled clientelist networks that reached the very top of the Ukrainian state, but they demand many more measures. Among them, the construction of a true judicial architecture to prosecute this type of crime, something that the countries of the former Soviet Union never had, with all the resources that this requires. Until something like this exists, it will be difficult for the EU to offer guarantees of membership in the European club. Especially since it is considered in Brussels that corruption is endemic in Ukraine and that its elimination, regardless of gestures, requires changing the entire system.
The EU acknowledges the “considerable efforts” Ukraine has made in recent months to meet the objectives underlying its EU membership candidate status and welcomes Ukraine’s reform efforts in such difficult times and the President of the Commission encouraged Zelensky to continue on this path. Ursula von der Leyen pointed out that the EU will continue to “support Ukraine’s further European integration” and will decide on the next steps “once all the conditions are fully met” in the latest Brussels opinion on the matter.
In the military, there is a feeling in kyiv of an imminent offensive, that the enemy is planning something terrible for February 24, the anniversary day. That is why Zelensky accused Russia of preparing its armed forces to “take revenge” on Ukraine and Europe for supporting kyiv against the Russian invasion. “Russia is concentrating its forces, we all know it. It wants to take revenge not only on Ukraine but also on free Europe,” he said with Ursula von der Leyen.
In recent days, the Russian military has intensified its attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine, claiming gains around the bombed-out city of Bakhmut. According to the Ukrainian president, “the dream of a peaceful Europe can only be achieved with Ukraine.” The president assured that his army is capable of “liberating” the strategic city of Bakhmut from the encirclement of Russian troops, but to achieve this he demanded the supply of long-range weapons by his Western allies. “We are not going to give up on Bakhmut, we will fight as long as we are able to, but we need more help.”
The Ukrainian government published on Thursday that Ukraine hopes to start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to launch a full program during the second quarter of 2023, which would help it stabilize its battered economy, now propped up by aid from the EU and the US. . Von der Leyen hopes that this summit in kyiv will send a “message to investors” around the world that Ukraine will “advance on its European path”. “Investors all over the world look at this country with admiration and also to see what happens. Our meeting should also be a message for investors,” said the president of the Commission, who recalled that work is being done to ensure access for Ukraine to the single community market and to help “mobilize all its economic potential in the fight against Russia and then for reconstruction.”
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