The Coalition of the Willing will continue to support Ukraine if Russia refuses to agree to a 30-day ceasefire and is ready to strengthen sanctions, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
“If Russia refuses to agree to a ceasefire, which would be the basis for negotiations that could begin immediately, then we will continue to defend Ukraine and we will continue to increase pressure on Russia,” Merz said at a joint press conference with leaders of the Coalition of the Willing in Kyiv on Saturday.
According to him, almost all EU members and representatives of the Coalition of the Willing are ready to impose sanctions if Russia does not accept their initiative. “We are all working to ensure that Russia finally agrees to a ceasefire and does not put forward any conditions, again and again,” Merz said.
He also recalled that prior to today’s summit, the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing had communicated with US President Donald Trump and informed him personally of the results immediately after the meeting.
“We are grateful to the US president for fully supporting our initiative, sharing it, and being fully involved in it,” Merz emphasized.
The full integration of Ukrainian business into the European market remains a key strategic goal of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for 2024–2025. This was announced by the head of the CCI, Gennady Chizhikov, in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“We are supporting the processes of certification, adaptation of logistics, labeling, and marketing materials for companies entering the EU markets. There are already specific cases where, thanks to this work, Ukrainian goods are being sold in Germany and Belgium,” Chizhikov said.
For more details, see the interview at https://interfax.com.ua/news/interview/1069297.html
Ukraine will receive €22.6 million from European partners to ensure nuclear safety, improve radiation protection, and manage radioactive waste, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.
The relevant draft agreement on the 2024/2025 contribution was approved during a meeting of the Supervisory Board for the Implementation of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation in Ukraine. The meeting was held on Friday by Minister Svitlana Grynychuk together with Jan Pane, Director for Nuclear Energy, Safety and ITER at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, and Inte Stockmann, Head of the Nuclear Safety Sector at the European Commission’s DG INTPE.
The agreed contribution agreement provides for the financing of a number of projects that are important for Ukraine. These include: ensuring backup power supply for the uninterrupted operation of radioactive waste management facilities, as well as the construction of the necessary infrastructure for the proper disposal of radioactive waste; the creation of an early warning system for forest fires in the exclusion zone; equipping a modern analytical laboratory for the analysis of radioactive materials in Chernobyl; restoring the functioning of the automated radiation monitoring system in the exclusion zone damaged by Russia during the occupation of the Chernobyl NPP.
In addition, there are plans to create a national integrated automated radiation monitoring system for the entire territory of Ukraine and integrate it with the European Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP), the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange System (ECURIE), the International Radiation Monitoring Information System (IRMIS) managed by the IAEA; providing personnel of enterprises in the exclusion zone with adequate modern transportation and accommodation in the exclusion zone, as well as personal protective equipment and decontamination facilities in emergency situations.
Attention will also be paid to harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with Euratom standards as one of the conditions for Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
All measures are planned to be implemented over a period of five years.
Following the historic decision taken at the Samarkand Summit to establish a strategic partnership between Central Asia and the European Union, the region is already beginning to see the tangible economic results of this cooperation.
Under the EU’s Global Gateway program, an investment package worth €12 billionwas presented, covering four key sectors:
– transportation (€3 billion)
– critical minerals (€2.5 billion)
– hydropower and climate initiatives (€6.4 billion),
– satellite Internet (€100 million).
In addition, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is developing a portfolio of projects worth about €7-8 billion to support transport, critical minerals, and renewable energy development, to be implemented by 2027.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its exports of agricultural products to the European Union by 11%, according to the EU’s report on trade in such products last year.
“The EU continued to import agricultural food products from various trading partners, with Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine being the main sources. Imports increased from Côte d’Ivoire, Ukraine and Nigeria, while they decreased from Russia and Australia,” the report, the full text of which is published on the European Commission’s website, says.
According to the published statistics, Ukraine was the third source of imports of agri-food products to the EU in 2024 (8% of the total value of imports). Agricultural imports from Ukraine to the EU increased by 11% compared to 2023 (+EUR1.3 billion) and reached EUR13 billion. This was mainly due to an increase in the share of two key commodities in imports: vegetable oils (EUR3 billion in 2024, +EUR946 million compared to 2023), and oilseeds and protein cereals (EUR3.1 billion, +EUR709 million).
At the same time, imports of Ukrainian grains to the EU decreased by 12% in value (to EUR 4.5 bln) due to lower prices, but their volume increased by 6% year-on-year.
At the same time, the total volume of European agricultural imports in 2024 reached a record high of EUR171.8 bln (+8% compared to 2023, or +EUR12.4 bln).
In terms of consumption of European agricultural exports, Ukraine ranks 13th with EUR3.634 billion, which is about 2% of the EU’s total agricultural exports (EUR235.4 billion). At the same time, in terms of consumption of European imported agricultural products, Ukraine showed an increase of 5% compared to 2023, when the country imported agricultural products worth EUR3.461 billion from the EU.
European and international financial institutions are ready to invest more than 10 billion euros in the development of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said at a press conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenportal.com reported.
“The development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor is a major ongoing project. European and international financial institutions are ready to invest more than 10 billion euros in this project,” Kallas said during a press conference on the 20th European Union-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting held in Ashgabat on March 27.
Kallas emphasized the growing desire for cooperation between the EU and Central Asian countries.
The EU plans to expand cooperation in various areas, she said.
Kallas emphasized the development of youth exchanges and strengthening contacts in business and academia.
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