The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has pointed out this Thursday that, within a maximum of two weeks, she will bring to the Community table a new package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, along with a specific proposal on how to cover the new financial needs of Kiev. At the same time, she has described as “very positive” the recent dialogue between representatives of Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dabi, in which the European Union was also present.
“I very positively value the peace talks in Abu Dabi. It is positive that Europeans were represented, both to safeguard our interests and because that is what the president (of Ukraine, Volodimir) Zelenski requested,” she said to the media upon her arrival at the summit of the European Political Community, which brings together this Thursday nearly fifty European leaders, including the Ukrainian leader himself.
The head of the Community Executive has stressed that it was the Ukrainian president who “asked that Europeans support him in these negotiations” and has insisted that the European Union “supports Ukraine both in times of war and in times of peace.” In this way, she has sought to highlight the political and diplomatic backing of the bloc for Kiev in the current talks scenario.
Against this backdrop, Germany’s conservative policy has advanced that the Commission services are already finalizing the twenty-second package of sanctions against Moscow for the war of aggression, to which another initiative will be added focused on meeting the “financial needs” of Ukraine, with the aim of ensuring stable resources for the country.
Both initiatives, Von der Leyen has specified, will be presented “before the next European Council is held,” the meeting at which the heads of state and government of the European Union will gather in Brussels on November 26 and 27 to debate, among other issues, the strategy to be followed regarding the conflict.
After that summit, the EU leaders, already in the format of 27, will continue on Friday in Dublin with an informal meeting in which they will analyze the role the Union should play in the talks between Kiev and Moscow sponsored by the United States, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed her discomfort about the lack of internal cohesion in the bloc.
Unwavering EU support for Ukraine
Meanwhile, Von der Leyen and the President of the European Council, António Costa, have reiterated to Zelenski the “unwavering” support of the European Union and have assured that the bloc will remain involved to guarantee “considerable financial and financial assistance to strengthen Ukraine’s position”.
“We welcome the talks held this week in Abu Dhabi and the renewed impetus of the peace process. The EU was present in these talks and will continue to participate in this format. We will continue to support Ukraine, as we have done since the first day of the war of Russian aggression, in these efforts to guarantee a just and lasting peace that safeguards the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the security of our continent,” Von der Leyen and Costa said in a statement after meeting with the Ukrainian president.
Along the same lines, they have emphasized that, in the context of the peace talks, the European Union is working “to ensure a viable reconstruction plan for Ukraine after the war and actively supporting its path towards EU accession,” with a focus on the integration process of the country into the Union’s structures.
In addition, they have confirmed that the Heads of State and Government of the European Union will assess at their summit on 26 and 27 November in Brussels the new package of sanctions that the Commission is preparing and the financing formulas, given that “Ukraine must negotiate from a position of strength”.
“We have to convince Russia to sit down at the negotiating table with a genuine intention for peace,” the statement adds, in which the Community leaders underline that, “in the face of the imminence of another winter of war, the European Commission is deploying immediate support on the ground”.