A week before the European Commission gives its first opinion on Ukraine’s candidacy for the EU, Ursula von der Leyen landed in kyiv and seemed to give clear signs that the opinion will be favourable. Together with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of the European Commission praised the country’s commitment to the process, but also the solidity of its institutions, and promised to stand by Ukraine in the “reforms” that the country will have to make.
On the stage next to Zelensky, after a work meeting, von der Leyen showed an optimistic and praising tone to speak of the Ukrainians who “bravely” defend their country -and, even “sharing tears” for the victims, he wanted to speak of the future
“I see that life is returning to kyiv. They are rebuilding the bridges, cleaning up the rubble, there are people coming back from outside, that’s a good sign,” she explained, focusing on the “reconstruction platform” she is now working on with the Ukrainian government.
Ukraine, a strong parliamentary democracy, was already on the right track before Russia invaded.
This war is a huge stress test.
And the whole country is taking a step forward.The same spirit is needed to reform and modernize the country.
And Europe is here to support you. pic.twitter.com/aGzqp5NNSN
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
“What we want to do together is create a common leadership, have a very clear plan on how to orchestrate this reconstruction, with full transparency and accountability to help Ukraine rise from the ashes. To support Ukraine on its European path, it is very important to have the combination of reforms and investments”, he explained. And even he considered that the country “was already on the right track before the heinous invasion. It is a solid presidential parliamentary democracy with robust institutions.”
“Decentralization is now worth reforming, the administration is functioning at all levels despite the war and is resilient, fully capable of functioning under incredibly difficult circumstances. The country is incredibly digitized. We already have an association and free trade agreement,” she recalled. However, more needs to be done to make Ukraine strong as a rule of law and to ensure that it has the necessary conditions to join the EU.
the @EU_Commission is preparing ⁰our recommendation for EU Member States.⁰⁰My discussions today with @ZelenskyyUa Y @Denys_Shmyhal it will allow us to finalize our evaluation.⁰⁰The path is known.
I appreciate Ukraine’s efforts and determination in this process. pic.twitter.com/wBJmOJ2P5x
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
“The focus is on overcoming this horrible war. But we want to look further. There are still reforms to be made to combat corruption, for the rule of law, ”she warned.
The conversation with Zelensky, guaranteed von der Leyen, served precisely to finish the evaluation that the European Commission is preparing and on which it works “tirelessly”, he guaranteed. The forecast has been that this first opinion is positive but indicates the need for some reforms, above all to reinforce the fight against corruption -later, on June 23 and 24, the summit to which the European leaders will be summoned may be more complicated-. to comment on the matter, as there is still no consensus.
Ukraine makes a diplomatic effort to convince skeptics to join the EU. And he is surprised at the resistance of Portugal
Portugal is, in fact, one of the countries that has been at least cautious in evaluating the process, a position that “surprised” Ukraine.
Von der Leyen, who had already been optimistic about the process, praised Ukraine’s commitment: “The path is known and it is based on merit. I very much appreciate Ukraine’s enormous effort in this process. People showed incredible strength and motivation.”
Source: Observadora
