The European Commission will soon submit a report on the readiness of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia to join the European Union, European Council President Charles Michel said.
“We discussed in detail the issues of EU enlargement a few months ago, at the conference in Versailles. After that, three countries applied for accession. We made a decision very quickly, instructing the European Commission to carry out work and prepare reports on these countries. We made a decision in a few days, although it usually took 8-9 months. By the end of June, the European Commission will publish this report, and we will decide how to proceed further,” Michel said at a joint press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu during a visit to Chisinau.
He stressed that the EU will continue to act promptly.
“We will act immediately to strengthen ties with Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, to support them in the current difficult situation. This will be a political process in the context of how we see the development of the European Union. In the next two months, we will give a clear signal of what we want to enlarge the European Union,” the President of the European Council said.
For her part, Moldovan President Maia Sandu stressed that “European integration is the choice of the country, the choice of the people.” “On April 22, we submitted to Brussels the first part of our responses to the European Commission’s questionnaire. In the near future we will also pass on the second part. We understand that integration into the EU is a long process, we are not looking for short and easy ways. We intend to continue reforms. Most importantly – peace is needed for this, everything must be done to restore peace,” Sandu stressed.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the European Commission has proposed suspending all import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union for a year.
“Today, the European Commission proposed to suspend for a year all import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union. This is an unprecedented gesture of support for our country. The EU has never taken such massive trade liberalization measures in any country before. This opens up additional opportunities for our business, and our products become more competitive in the European market. We negotiated the abolition of duties with our European colleagues, and we are grateful that they heard us and supported Ukraine,” Shmyhal wrote on the Telegram channel.
Shmygal also said that the government has agreements and is negotiating with Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Germany and other countries to allow Ukrainian exports through the ports of these countries.
“We are working further so that, in addition to the EU countries and the UK, our other allies will also take the decision to abolish duties on Ukrainian products,” he wrote.
EUROPE, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, IMPORT DUTIES, UKRAINIAN EXPORT
The European Commission will provide an opinion on Ukraine’s possibility of obtaining the status of a candidate member of the EU by the end of June, after which the European Council will be able to start a discussion on this issue, President of the European Council Charles Michel said.
“We will have the opinion of the Commission by the end of June. And it will be my responsibility to assess when I can put this issue on the agenda of the European Council, to make sure that we have a political discussion, a dialogue, to make progress on this path. But I I want to say that I feel very strong support to make sure that we can provide concrete support to Ukraine in your choice to follow the path to the EU in your future,” Michel said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He stressed that Ukraine demonstrates adherence to democratic principles and freedoms every day.
“You are fighting not only for the future of the children of Ukraine. We know that you are fighting for European fundamental principles and values,” Michel stressed.
The European Commission (EC) put forward on Friday a proposal for the recommendation of the EU Council on the conversion of hryvnia banknotes into the currency of the member states hosting Ukrainian refugees. “This proposal complements the humanitarian assistance provided by the EU to those who flee Ukraine, in particular when they move through the territory of the union, and it is fully consistent with EU law on asylum and foreign policy,” the EC communique published in Brussels reads. The document says that since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 3.8 million people have arrived in the European Union fleeing the fighting. One of the urgent needs of refugees is the conversion of their hryvnia banknotes into the currency of the host country. “Today’s proposal aims to promote a coordinated approach for all Member States to offer those fleeing Ukraine the same conditions for converting their hryvnia banknotes into local currency, regardless of the Member State they are in,” the statement said. European Commission. Brussels explains that this approach was necessary due to the fact that the National Bank of Ukraine was forced to suspend the exchange of hryvnia banknotes for foreign cash in order to protect Ukraine’s limited foreign exchange reserves. As a consequence, credit institutions in the EU Member States are reluctant to make the exchange due to the limited convertibility of hryvnia banknotes. Some EU Member States are considering introducing national schemes that support the conversion of a limited amount of hryvnia per person, and the aim of the Commission, as the communiqué suggests, is to consistently promote such schemes. These schemes should include a maximum limit of UAH 10,000 per person, and the duration of such schemes should be at least three months.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has sent an official appeal to the European Commission with proposals to increase economic pressure on the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
“Despite the already introduced restrictive measures, Russian business finds workarounds and continues to conduct operations in other countries. Accordingly, the existing sanctions do not fully achieve their goal,” the ministry said on its website on Tuesday.
In this regard, the Infrastructure Ministry proposes to the European Union: completely block land and sea transport links with Russia and Belarus; block the possibility of transporting goods and people to Russia and Belarus through the territory of the European Union and across its borders; prohibit the provision of customs services for goods delivered to Russia and Belarus.
“In particular, these measures are necessary to stop the supply of dual-use goods to the aggressor country that can be used for military needs,” the ministry said.
BELARUS, BLOCK, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, RUSSIA, TRANSPORT LINKS, UKRAINE
The European Commission has launched the ERA4Ukraine portal to provide information and support services to Ukrainian scientists forced to travel abroad due to the war, according to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
According to the press service of the ministry, on the portal you can find information about the recognition of diplomas, current vacancies, receiving social assistance and housing offers for scientists and their families.
“The ERA4Ukraine portal will operate within the EURAXESS network, which supports scientists from more than 600 research centers and contains 43 national portals in EU member states and countries that have become associate participants in the Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The portal contains information about support of Ukrainian scientists from 30 countries in English. The Ukrainian version will be available soon,” the report says.
ERA4UKRAINE, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, HELP, UKRAINIAN SCIENTISTS, ПОРТАЛ
