“The fact that this summit will take place in Kyiv is a strong signal to both partners and enemies” from Ukraine, the target of Russian military offensive since February 2022, Chmygal told a government meeting.
Denis Schmigal also confirmed that on the eve of the summit, the Ukrainian capital will receive several European commissioners “for consultations between the government and the European Commission.”
He emphasized that these are “two very important events regarding the European integration of Ukraine”.
Dennis Schmigal insisted that Thursday’s talks and Friday’s summit should allow “Europe to believe in Ukraine’s victory”, while “we support our rapid move towards EU membership”.
“For the enemies: this is a sign of the futility of their efforts to sow discord in the coalition that supports Ukraine and to abort our Euro-Atlantic integration,” he said.
Russia has, in part, justified its invasion of Ukraine by taking the risk, according to Moscow, of a potential rapprochement between Kyiv and NATO.
Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and Kyiv’s support against Russia’s invasion should be the central topics of the meeting between the commissioners, the Ukrainian government, and the summit.
At the end of June 2022, Ukraine received official candidate status for EU membership, a symbolic but powerful gesture of support, four months after the Russian invasion began. But the path to membership could take years to complete.
The date of the meeting of the Commissioner’s Committee with the Ukrainian government has yet to be clarified, as it appears on the European Commission’s calendar scheduled to take place between Thursday and Friday, but with no program available.
At the end of last week, Brussels made available information that included the participation of Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioners Margaritis Schinas (Promotion of the European Way of Life), Janusz Wojciechowski (Agriculture) and Nicholas Schmidt (Employment and Social Affairs). rights), Ylva Johansson (domestic affairs), Paolo Gentolini (economics) and Janiz Lenarcic (crisis management).
However, this information has been withdrawn.
Asked on Monday about this meeting and the subsequent summit, European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer replied that the two events are separate and that only the Executive Community Chair, Ursula von der Leyen, High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, and European Council President Charles Michel will attend the summit.
“The rest of the college members will not be at the top,” the delegate said during the regular press conference, without elaborating, citing security reasons.
The Russian invasion—which Russian President Vladimir Putin justified by the need to “discredit Ukraine” and disarm it for Russia’s security—was generally condemned by the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia. of political and economic sanctions.
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