The European Commission will announce a new aid package for Ukraine and discuss the prospects of the country's EU membership during its visit to Kyiv, Lithuanian EC member Virginijus Sinkevičius, who is part of the EC delegation, says.
“The president [Ursula von der Leyen] will announce an additional package of 50 million euros. It’s big, compared to the total aid of 50 billion euros, but it will be another new additional package,” the commissioner told BNS by phone from Kyiv on Thursday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and 15 commissioners are visiting Ukraine at Sinkevičius’ initiative.
“We plan to discuss a whole range of issues – from the announcement of a new aid package to the budget, financial issues, the coordination of diplomatic efforts, and the green and sustainable reconstruction of Ukrainian cities. An agreement on hydrogen and biomethane production, cooperation and development will be signed,” the politician said.
Ukraine is moving forward towards EU membership, Sinkevičius said, adding that he can only assess the country’s progress in his own area of competence.
“The country is certainly making progress. It’s fantastic how Ukraine manages everything during the war,” Sinkevičius said. “We have made a lot of progress, despite it being one of the most difficult areas, but we have probably covered more than 70 percent of the legislation. Of course, adopting laws is not enough, they need to be implemented and this will take time, but we are ready to support Ukraine.”
Kyiv’s progress will be assessed in more detail in a report, the politician said.
In June, EU leaders agreed to grant Ukraine candidate status, paving the way for Kyiv to start the process of joining the EU, which can take years, if not decades, and will require fundamental governance reforms and difficult negotiations.
“But the key message of this visit is that the European Commission, the European Union will stand with Ukraine until the end and will support Ukraine in every way possible,” Sinkevičius said.
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