German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that she would soon visit Ukraine along with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and they would visit the country’s eastern regions.
“The two of us will soon visit Ukraine again, we will go to the contact line in Donbas, since in recent weeks I have received information about how much the civilian population is suffering: women, children, young people, the elderly. We have lost sight of them. We must talk about security and peace in the region,” Baerbock said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Monday.
In turn, Kuleba said that during the joint visit of Baerbock and Le Drian to Ukraine, their trilateral meeting will take place, during which they will discuss in detail the prospects for a meeting of Normandy format’s Foreign Ministers.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Germany has explained the current travel regime for Ukrainian citizens to Germany.
“According to the report of the German Robert Koch Institute, starting from January 9, 2022, Ukraine is no longer included in the list of the so-called ‘countries of increased risk for Germany.’ The ‘Green List’ of countries whose citizens can freely enter the Federal Republic of Germany,” the embassy said on Facebook on Wednesday.
It is indicated that the statement of the Robert Koch Institute on the procedure for entry from January 9, 2022 concerns exclusively the quarantine regulations of the Federal Government of Germany, in particular, now citizens of Ukraine are exempted from the requirements for electronic registration and quarantine.
“Fully vaccinated citizens of Ukraine can enter Germany, even without urgent need. General rules of entry apply for this category of persons. It is important that vaccines against COVID-19 are allowed in the EU: Comirnaty (BioNTech), Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen. Vaccination with the last required dose should be carried out at least 14 days before entry,” the embassy said.
It is also noted that unvaccinated citizens of Ukraine can enter Germany only in case of urgent need, presenting either a negative test result (PCR or antigen), made no earlier than 48 hours before entry, or a certificate of recovery. At the same time, if the trip is planned by plane, it is recommended to follow the requirements of individual airlines as well.
The requirement to present a negative test result or certificate applies to persons over six years of age.
The German authorities intend to support bilateral energy projects with Ukraine and will dedicate the funding of $70 million for this, according to a joint statement by Washington and Berlin on the Nord Stream 2.
“Germany will continue to support bilateral energy projects with Ukraine, especially in the field of renewables and energy efficiency, as well as coal transition support,” the document says.
Germany, among other things, “will appoint a special envoy with dedicated funding of $70 million.”
In addition, Germany is also ready to launch a Ukraine Resilience Package to support Ukraine’s energy security. Berlin will provide assistance for Ukraine’s integration into the European electricity grid, support efforts to reform Ukraine’s energy sector, and assist with identifying options to modernize Ukraine’s gas transmission systems.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived on a two-day working visit to Germany.
According to the presidential press service, Zelensky will hold a number of meetings, in particular with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
A meeting is also planned with Head of the Christian Democratic Union, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet.
Lyst-Ruchky LLC (Ruchky village, Poltava region), part of Astarta agro-industrial holding, exported the first batch of organic soybeans under a contract with the German processing company Agriprotein GmbH, the agricultural holding’s press service reported.
“A supply contract of organic soybeans was concluded with the German processing company Agriprotein GmbH. As per contract, the quality of delivered products has to be confirmed in two stages. The first samples of soybeans were selected and tested by the European laboratory Galab (Germany) prior to signing a contract. The organic origin of the product and its high quality was confirmed. The second stage of the inspection took place upon delivery and organic status of soybeans was reaffirmed,” the company said on its website.
“As reported, last year Astarta completed a three-year journey to the first harvest of organic grain and oilseeds crops in sync with the European trend of expanding organic farming methods. In the 2021 season, the total area of the company’s land bank under organic products is 1,800 ha with the following crops: soybeans, millet, mustard, sunflower, corn and winter wheat,” the report says.
“The company also plans to certify this crops according to Bio Suisse (Switzerland) and USDA NOP (USA) standards,” it said.
As reported, Lyst-Ruchky in July 2020 received a certificate of a manufacturer of organic products. To confirm this status, it took three years of work in a transitional period, the corresponding intermediate inspections and certifications.
Federal Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz said that Germany will seek the extension of the agreement on gas transit through Ukraine.
“We work very hard to make sure that the gas transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia is prolonged,” Scholz said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday.
According to the position of Germany, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, should be finished, but gas transit through Ukraine should be preserved.
According to Scholz, Germany sees its responsibility to ensure transit through Ukraine in the future, and not only for two or three years, but for decades to come.
The current agreement, according to Government Spokesperson Steffen Seibert, is valid until at least 2024, but the agreement implies that the parties will check the possibility of extending the agreement until 2034.
