Germany and the Netherlands on Monday reiterated the need to support negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, and also called for continued assistance to Kyiv, Interfax reports.
“It is important that Ukraine can count on our support,” outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He also considered it important that the EU, at the summit on Thursday and Friday, take the next step to adopt a multi-year budget, which provides for a new package of financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 50 billion euros. In addition, Rutte emphasized the need to discuss Kyiv’s European prospects and begin negotiations on its accession to the EU.
Scholz, in turn, said that the EU “needs to formulate a long-term perspective on how we can support Ukraine, for how long and what volumes of ammunition production and support they need to do this.”
“This requires a joint effort. I am ready to head to Brussels to actively work to find a solution that, alas, does not yet exist. That is why reaching an agreement is impossible without changing budget expenditure items as a whole, but the situation cannot be resolved by injecting new money,” he noted.
Despite this, Rutte expressed hope that differences on these issues within the EU could be resolved at the summit.
Source: Rosbalt
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