Von der Layen arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train. This is the second time since the start of the war that the President of the Commission has visited Kyiv and Ukraine in general.
The President of the Commission made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday, as it was not announced for security reasons in the previous days. Ursula von der Layen, where he had a meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The visit was announced earlier on Saturday with tweets from the president of the European Commission.
Von der Layen arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train. This is the second time since the start of the war that the President of the Commission has visited Kyiv and Ukraine in general.
The people of Ukraine are showing incredible strength and stamina.
Today I’m in Kyiv to continue discussions on our efforts to support in rebuilding your beautiful country.
And the process of advancing on the 🇪🇺 path. https://t.co/C0Cij7Evpt
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
Ursula von der Leyen said she was confident of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and of post-war reconstruction projects, during a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president.
“The Commission is preparing an opinion” on the possibility of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for accession to the EU, ” help us to complete our opinion by the end of next week. Yours is a course based on values. I appreciate the enormous efforts and determination you have in this process, the Ukrainians have shown incredible strength. I am deeply convinced. that, together, we will overcome this horrible war“We will rebuild this country.”
The @EU_Commission is preparing recommendour recommendation for EU Member States.⁰⁰My discussions today with @ZelenskyyUa and @Denys_Shmyhal will enable us to finalize our assessment.⁰⁰The path is known.
I appreciate the efforts and determination of Ukraine in this process. pic.twitter.com/wBJmOJ2P5x
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
The president of the Commission praised the Zelensky government, which “works well at all levels, despite the war.” Regarding the association agreement with the EU, he said that “further steps must be taken”. But “Ukraine is at war, your focus and our support is to overcome this horrible war, but we want to look further, even with reconstruction.”
As for the reconstruction of Ukraine stressed that “we are working on a platform for reconstruction. There is a huge desire for reconstruction, on the part of European countries, other friends, financial institutions and of course businesses. What we want to do is create a common direction, a roadmap for defining how the reconstruction is organized in full transparency to help Ukraine get out of the ashes. “Ukraine is fully responsible for reconstruction. We have a long experience in how to manage reconstruction, make reforms, channel investments.”
We want to channel investments and deliver reforms:
• to improve the lives of Ukrainians
• make Ukraine more attractive for investors
• and support Ukraine in pursuing its European path. pic.twitter.com/1wDrmGeKD6– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
“The European project can certainly not be completed without Ukraine”
“The European project can certainly not be completed without Ukraine, and this is absolutely obvious “Now that the Ukrainian people are defending their future for themselves and for all the peoples of the West, the East, the North and the South of Europe,” he said. Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I thank the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the substantive negotiations. Your leadership, your attention is valuable to us. “I believe that in the near future we will communicate with you on a new level of our relations – with Ukraine in the EU,” Zelensky added.
I visited soldiers recovering in a hospital in Kyiv.
In spite of the injuries, their spirit is unbroken. Their determination, intact.
These are hard times for Ukraine.
Europe is at your side. pic.twitter.com/gjxvuO2Tj0
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
