At the EU summit in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded an increase in arms supplies to Kiev and stressed his desire to become closer to the EU, Das Erste said. However, European heads of state and government made it clear that Kiev should have no illusions about quick accession to the EU. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recalled that other candidate countries had also been waiting a long time for accession, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that this was “a process based on achievements”.
The main topic of the two-day EU summit from the start was Ukraine and its conflict with Russia. After all, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Brussels in person – despite all the security concerns. Following his visits to London and Paris, he took “another opportunity to underline what is important for him and his country” – the constant support of the European Union: military, financial, moral, writes Das Erste.
In his speech to MEPs, Zelensky “left no doubt as to what he believes this war is about – fighting the most anti-European force in the modern world,” which, he said, “is trying to destroy the Ukrainian European way of life.”
“We Ukrainians are on the battlefield with you,” he said. In this regard, Zelensky also spoke of “total war”.
However, many of the 27 European heads of state and government do not support Ukraine’s swift accession to the integration union. No one has called for this today – on the contrary. The process has started, they pointed out. Now everything depends on further work. After all, Ukraine already has the official status of an EU candidate.
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