Travelling to Kyiv the day after her State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need to ensure that Ukraine develops its trade relations and increases its revenues through “deep integration into the EU internal market”.
With the electricity connection established in May between the EU and Ukraine, “Ukraine is supplying electricity to the EU”, noted Ms von der Leyen, a situation which brings in revenue.
She recalled that 98% of the tariffs imposed on Ukrainian products entering the EU had been removed (see EUROPE 12959/4) for one year. On Thursday, on the sidelines of the G7 Trade Summit, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis, mentioned the possibility of extending this measure beyond May 2023, if necessary, according to AFP. For Ms von der Leyen, European and Ukrainian experts will now work on removing “numerous non-tariff barriers”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ms von der Leyen for her involvement in providing financial and material assistance to the Ukrainians, evidenced on Thursday by the European Parliament’s approval of the new €5 billion macrofinancial assistance package (see other news), the first instalment of which could be disbursed in mid-October.
The two leaders discussed the challenges ahead, such as the energy issue as winter approaches, and the challenge of rebuilding Ukraine, which is in the midst of Russia’s military invasion. Ms von der Leyen said the EU would provide “€150 million” to help internally displaced people in Ukraine and “€100 million” for the reconstruction of schools destroyed by Russian bombing.
“We’ll never be able to match the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people, what you do with your fight for humanity. Your European friends will be by your side, forever”, concluded the Commission President. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)