Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob have arrived in Kiev, where they will participate in a summit to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Buča. Slovak Prime Minister Heger arrived in Ukraine on Friday and will meet with President Vladimir Zelenski, the Slovakian news agency TASR reported.
Along with Heger, Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nagy arrived in Ukraine. The time and place of the meeting are not disclosed in advance for security reasons.
According to Heger, Zelenski invited him to visit Ukraine in a telephone conversation after Slovakia approved the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
For his part, Nagy is scheduled to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Alexey Reznikov during the day.
In addition, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic arrived in Kyiv on Friday morning. He is scheduled to meet with Zelensky, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk. Also with the Croatian prime minister arrived Minister of Veterans Affairs Tomo Medved.
According to the Croatian government’s website, together with Zelenski, Heger, Golob and Moldovan President Maia Sandu, they will take part in a summit on “Bucha – Russian Responsibility for Crimes in Ukraine” in Kiev to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha (Kiev region). A joint press conference will follow.
This is Plenkovic’s second visit to Ukraine since the Russian aggression began on February 24, 2022. Last May, he met with the Ukrainian leadership in Kiev and visited Irpen and Bucha.
The Slovenian newspaper Delo, for its part, reported on the arrival of Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in Kiev on Friday. He also intends to meet with Zelenskyy.
For the Slovenian prime minister, this is his first visit to Ukraine since coming to power. His goal is to reaffirm his support for Ukraine, which has been a victim of Russian aggression since last February.
Golob will also be received by Shmygal and Stefančuk .
People checks at internal land and sea borders between Croatia and other Schengen zone countries will be abolished from January 1, 2023, according to an EU Council decision of December 8, 2022.
Checks at internal air borders will be abolished from March 26, 2023, given the need to coordinate with International Air Transport Association (IATA) timetable dates, Brussels explained the decision, under which Croatia became the 27th member of the Schengen area and its rules now apply to the country.
“I am very pleased that during the Czech Presidency (of the EU Council in the second half of 2022 – IF-U) Croatia was able to take two important steps in its European integration by joining both the euro area and the Schengen area. I am confident that these successes will pave the way for other member states that fulfill the conditions to take the next step in their European advancement,” said Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakušan, announcing the EU Council decision.
At the same time, the applications of Bulgaria and Romania to join the free movement zone remained unsatisfied.
Commenting on this situation, the Czech Interior Minister assured: “Both I and my colleagues will continue to work hard so that we can welcome Bulgaria and Romania to the family of the Schengen area in the near future.
According to Western media reports, Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen zone was opposed by Austria and the Netherlands, and Romania’s accession was opposed by Austria.
Agreement on the gradual abandonment of border control was signed June 14, 1985 in the Luxembourg village of Schengen, where the borders of Luxembourg, France and Germany, the representatives of five countries: Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France and Germany. The Schengen area began its existence on March 26, 1995 when border and customs controls were abolished at the internal borders of these countries which had by then been joined also by Spain and Portugal.
Due to the further increase in the number of Schengen countries, the agreement with its legal framework was included from 1999 into the unified community legislation (Treaty of Amsterdam). After Croatia joined the Schengen Area, there are 23 EU states and four European Free Trade Association countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
De facto, without the conclusion of formal agreements, the dwarf states of Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino joined the Schengen rules.
Croatia became the 27th member of the Schengen Area on Thursday following a decision in Brussels by the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, French newspaper Le Figaro announced.
The decision, the newspaper reported, citing the Czech presidency of the EU Council, will take effect on January 1, 2023.
At the same time, the media noted, the application of Bulgaria and Romania to join the free movement zone still remained unsatisfied.
The Schengen zone began its existence in March 1995, when border controls were abolished at the internal borders between the seven states: Belgium, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and France.
The leaders of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia have supported the “Grain from Ukraine” initiative announced by the president of Ukraine and announced further efforts to increase existing and create new transit corridors for the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products.
“Since the beginning of the war, 8.4 million tons of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine have been transited (through Romania) to consumers in the world. We expect transit exports from Ukraine to increase in the coming months,” Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said in a video message at the international food security summit in Kiev on Saturday.
He noted that Romania has acted very strongly in support of Ukrainian grain exports through Romanian ports and will continue working to increase connectivity between the countries by land and rail, including the recent opening of a new border crossing.
Ciuche also stressed that Romania has and will not back down from supporting Ukraine and Moldova in the energy sphere. “We will not allow Russia to plunge the region into darkness,” he said.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at the summit that Bulgaria has managed to transport about 200,000 tons of grain from Ukraine across the Danube in recent months, and the country intends to continue this transportation project.
“Unfortunately, the loss of power in Ukrainian ports due to Russian shelling has made this process difficult for Bulgarian vessels,” he said.
Radev also said Bulgaria is providing fuel to Ukraine so the country can support the agricultural and transportation sectors.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrea Plenkovic also supported work on new corridors for the supply of Ukrainian products as part of the EU’s Solidarity Routes project.
“Croatia is actively joining, and will attract other ports on the Adriatic and there are opportunities for corridors along the Danube River,” said the Croatian government head.
The three leaders welcomed the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another 120 days, and the Bulgarian president urged the search for stable long-term solutions.
SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv) has launched charter flights from Lviv to Al-Qassim (Saudi Arabia), the company’s press service said on Tuesday.
“On 20 June, Lviv International Airport welcomed the first SkyUp charter aircraft from Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. It is expected that this flight will launch a number of planned flights by the airline from the Arabian Gulf countries to Ukraine,” the report said.
According to Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development Maryana Oleskiv, who is cited by SkyUp, the countries of the Arabian Gulf, together with the Central Asia region, are priority areas for the development of inbound tourism in Ukraine.
In addition, on June 20, SkyUp launched regular direct flights from Kyiv to Pula (Croatia). They will be operated on Thursdays and Sundays.
From June 23, the airline will also launch flights from Kyiv to Split, Croatia (flights will be operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays), and from June 25 – to Dubrovnik (flights will be operated on Fridays).
Direct flights to Pula are also operated by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and Windrose Airlines, and to Split – by UIA.
As reported, Flynas Airlines (Saudi Arabia) on June 11 launched its first flight from Kyiv to Riyadh. Prior to that, Ukraine did not have regular direct flights with Saudi Arabia.
An information and analytical center of the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Ukraine) has opened in Zagreb (Croatia), Ukrainian Ambassador to Croatia Vasyl Kyrylych has said.
“Together with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, we have opened an information-analytical center of the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce in Zagreb,” he said on Twitter.
According to him, the task of such a center is simple, but important and consists in quick response to the requests of Ukrainian business and assistance in contacts with Croatian partners.
