The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, on Thursday 2 February, during a meeting in Kyiv with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, a new EU support of €450 million for 2023.
Of these funds, €145 million will be humanitarian aid (see other news) and €305 million will come under bilateral cooperation to support the rapid recovery of Ukraine’s infrastructure, to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and to support its reform process.
This new aid brings the total support provided by the EU, its Member States and European financial institutions to Ukraine since the beginning of the war to €50 billion.
EU membership as a motivation to defend the country
In front of the media, Mr Zelensky emphasised his country’s accession to the EU. “For our people it is really important, it is a motivation to defend our state and the whole of Europe”, he explained. According to him, “every step to further unite Ukraine and the EU inspires (the) Ukrainian people”.
Discussions focused on reform priorities and measures that appear necessary, following the Commission’s analytical report complementing its Opinion on Ukraine’s application for EU membership, to help the country further align its legislation with the EU acquis.
Mr Zelensky was satisfied that the report on the second part of the accession questionnaire was “so thin”. “This is good news. This report will become the basis for the work of our government”, he promised. Ms von der Leyen said Ukraine continued to make “impressive progress” in meeting the seven conditions of the Commission’s Opinion for Ukraine to open accession negotiations.
Looking ahead to the post-war period, the Ukrainian president explained that more work was needed on the details of his country’s recovery, including the implementation of the rapid recovery plan and the financing of reconstruction. “Reconstruction starts now with fast recovery. So we are working now together on making available €1 billion for the start of the fast recovery”, said Ms von der Leyen. In March, the ‘new European Bauhaus’, together with its Ukrainian partners, will launch a capacity building programme to help Ukrainian municipalities prepare for reconstruction.
More sanctions
Mr Zelensky also called for the adoption of the 10th package of sanctions against Russia, which Ms von der Leyen intends to see adopted by 24 February, the anniversary of the Russian invasion.
“It is a common European task to reduce Russia’s ability to circumvent sanctions. The faster and better this task is accomplished, the closer we will be to defeat” explained the Ukrainian leader, regretting that the pace of sanctions in Europe has slowed down a bit, while Russia is accelerating the pace of adaptation to sanctions. “It’s worth catching it, and correcting it”, he added.
According to Ms von der Leyen, the crude oil price cap is already costing Russia around €160 million per day.
She also recalled that Russia must be held accountable in court “for its heinous crimes”, highlighting the establishment of an International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine (see EUROPE 13109/1, 13109/2).
Strengthening the partnership
The meeting between the 16 members of the College of Commissioners who travelled to Kyiv and the Ukrainian government was also an opportunity to announce many advances in sectoral cooperation.
Thus, the two sides discussed the priority action plan for the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement for 2023-2024, which will map the key areas for the implementation of the agreement and will constitute the roadmap for improving Ukraine’s access to the internal market. The Commission also announced a technical assistance programme for the Agreement on Conformity, Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products. It proposed as well measures to facilitate trade, including the suspension of import duties on Ukrainian exports and the extension of these measures beyond June 2023.
In addition, Ukraine will join key EU programmes. The Commission and Kyiv have in fact signed the association to the Single Market Programme. The agreement will support Ukrainian businesses and allow Ukraine to participate in specific calls under the SME programme and in initiatives such as the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme and the Enterprise Europe Network.
Discussions will soon begin on the integration of Ukraine into other programmes, including the Connecting Europe Facility. The Commission also announced the opening of a new Horizon Europe office in Kyiv by mid-2023, which will aim to promote EU funding opportunities, offer technical support to Ukrainian researchers and innovators and strengthen networks between Ukrainian and European institutions.
The Commission welcomed as well the extension for six months of the measures taken for low-cost or even free telephone calls between the EU and Ukraine. The new agreement now covers calls to fixed lines in Ukraine as well as new types of operators. In parallel, a roadmap was agreed to include Ukraine in the EU’s national cost roaming area, once it has ensured full implementation of the EU acquis in this area.
The Commission also pledged to help Kyiv begin its reform of the guardianship and protection system for children without parental care so that they are placed in foster families rather than in orphanages. “We are starting with €10 million to support the design of a modern childcare strategy here. This of course includes capacity building and a twinning project”, announced Ms von der Leyen.
Finally, in the margins of the meeting, Ms von der Leyen and Prime Minister Denys Chmyhal concluded a strategic partnership on biomethane, hydrogen and other syngas to expand energy cooperation between the EU and Ukraine. The Memorandum of Understanding reaffirms the commitment of both parties to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, in particular Russian gas, and to work towards climate neutrality. In front of the media, Mr Zelensky thanked the EU for its support in improving his country’s energy consumption, notably with the shipment of LED bulbs, of which five million have already arrived. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)