European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says that one of the issues on the agenda of the G7 summit will be the question of continued funding for Ukraine. She also announced a European Union contribution of EUR 75 million in grant funding for a new safe confinement facility.
She made this announcement on Monday at a press conference in Evian, where the G7 summit will take place, and which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend.
The President of the European Commission said she was looking forward to tomorrow’s meeting with President Zelenskyy. She noted that Russia’s brutal war of aggression had, in fact, lasted longer than the First World War and that, amid the escalation of attacks, Europe continued its unwavering support for Ukraine.
Von der Leyen said the EUR 90 billion loan package covered two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial needs for this year and next, adding that the first disbursements would take place later this month. She said Ukraine’s active partners would be needed to cover the remaining third and that this would be one of the topics of the summit.
Von der Leyen also said that, together with Canada, the EU was preparing for the coming winter in Ukraine. She noted that the EU and Canada were leading the preparations and joining President Macron’s efforts regarding pledges. She announced a EUR 75 million grant contribution for a new safe confinement.
She also noted that, at the same time, the EU was anchoring Ukraine in Europe. According to her, the first cluster of negotiations on EU accession was being opened, which she described as a major step forward. Von der Leyen stressed that Ukraine had made significant progress on reforms and had succeeded, so now the EU had to succeed as well.
