European Commission to sign agreement to attract 1.4 bln euros of private investment into Ukraine
BRUSSELS/BERLIN. June 11 (Interfax) - The European Commission will sign an agreement with partner banks to bring 1.4 billion euros of private investment into Ukraine under the approved Ukraine Facility.
"Here in Berlin we are now signing the first agreements worth 1.4 billion euros with our partner banks to attract investments in Ukraine from the private sector," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
She recalled the EU's decision "to provide predictable support until 2027." "The [Ukraine] Facility is backed by solid plan for reforms and investments it's now up and running - 6 billion euros have already reached Ukraine," she said.
She also recalled plans to launch talks on Ukraine's accession to the EU before the end of June. "Ukraine has fulfilled all the steps that we have set out. This is why we believe the European Union should begin accession talks with Ukraine already by the end of this month," von der Leyen said.
Von der Leyen said the reforms Ukraine was conducting were the foundation for "making Ukraine attractive for business and investments" and also helped bring Ukraine and the EU closer.
Ukrainian media reported that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine had fulfilled all the conditions for talks on EU membership to begin. He said those talks ought to begin as early as June because those were the pledges the EU made to Ukraine.
No matter how the political mood in Europe changes, the reality is that the European Union is needed by all Europeans, without exception, and by every nation that shares the common values of all of Europe, he said at the conference.
As reported, Belgium, which currently holds the EU presidency, hopes to hold the first round of negotiations on June 25. In July, the EU presidency will pass to Hungary, whose leadership is not enthusiastic about plans for EU enlargement.
In February 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed an application for Ukraine's membership of the EU. In June that year, the EU Council granted Ukraine candidate status for accession to the EU.
In June 2022, Moldova also received candidate status for accession to the European Union.