Leaders of 26 Member States of the European Union on Thursday at the Summit in Brussels They joined the joint statement of the President of the European Council (ER) Antónia Costa to continue to support Ukraine. With common unanimous conclusions according to TASR information Only Hungary disagreed.
The situation from the March meeting was reiterated, when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also rejected the common conclusions about Ukraine. Budapest also disagrees with the admission of Ukraine to the EU, although, according to the European Commission, the destroyed country has fulfilled all the conditions for the commencement of access negotiations. However, this requires the support of all Member States.
Presidents and Prime Ministers 26 countries have once again expressed Support for a comprehensive, fair and permanent peace in Ukraine based on the UN Charter and International Law Principles. They also welcomed all efforts to achieve such a peace, including efforts under the leadership of the United States. They also agreed to increase pressure on Russia through new sanctions.
The European Council strongly condemned continued Russian attacks on civilian targets. She appreciated the willingness of Ukraine to stop fighting and called on Moscow to prove the political will to end aggression. “The EU is ready to increase the pressure to achieve this goal, even through a new strict sanction package, which would also include other measures aimed at income from Russia from energy,” It is written in an opinion.
The statement also emphasizes the importance of humanitarian aid and measures to build trust, in particular Exchange of prisoners of war, dismissal of civilians and the return of all kidnapped Ukrainian children and other civilians who have been illegally deported and transported to Russia and Belarus.
All Military support as well as security guarantees for Ukraine will be provided with full respect for the security and defense policy of some Member States AS, taking into account the security and defensive interests of all Member States, the representatives of the countries agreed.
The European Council also welcomed the adoption of 17. The packs of sanctions that focus mainly on the energy and financial sector of Russia, Including the “shadow fleet” of oil tankers and their operators. It also calls for adoption of further measures against the Russian shadow fleet, which Russia, according to her, uses to circumvent sanctions.
The Union will continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support in the long term And it will continue to be determined, even on the journey of Ukraine, to access the EU, to support its repair, renewal and reconstruction in coordination with international partners, the highest representatives of 26 countries promised.
Leaders have also confirmed that permanent peace will require trusted security guarantees for Ukraine. In conclusion, the statement confirms support for the Ukrainian journey to EU membership, while prime ministers and presidents awarded the progress of reforms and called on advice to take further steps in the access process.
