Check against delivery! 

Good afternoon, and sorry for being so late.  

I know that you have been waiting for quite a long time, but the debate has been long, and I have to say very interesting and useful. 

But I have to start by thanking our Ukrainian hosts – in particular you, dear Dmytro [Kuleba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine], and certainly President [of Ukraine, Volodymyr] Zelenskyy for your very good hospitality. 

Today, we had an Informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Kyiv. This is for sure a historical date for several reasons. 

It is the first time ever that the Council met outside the European Union.  

It is the first time that we met in a candidate country.  

And, unfortunately, it was also the first time that the Foreign Ministers of the European Union met in a country at war.  

Of course, we would have preferred very much to meet under different circumstances, but these circumstances are the way they are, and we have to support Ukraine in facing this challenge. 

By coming to Kyiv, the European Union’s Foreign Ministers sent a strong message of solidarity and support to Ukraine in the face of this unjust and illegitimate war. 

I, personally - before today’s meeting - visited Odesa and Kyiv, to meet with the Ukrainian people, to know and discuss their daily lives and see with my own eyes the brutal, inhumane nature of Putin’s aggression against this country. 

Targeting churches, cultural heritage, ports that are exporting food for hungry people around the world – this says a lot about the true face of the so-called “special military operation” that Putin is waging against the people of Ukraine, who are resisting with incredible bravery.  

Russia is weaponising hunger and energy. Russia is doing so, extending its crimes across the globe, targeting the most vulnerable people in Africa and in Asia, depriving them of their food. This is the consequence of this naval blockage. 

This is not only our claim. It is also the perception of many, as we have seen at the heart of the United Nations General Assembly two weeks ago.  

Unhappily, Russia seems determined to continue with its illegal actions, violating the international rules-based order and putting global diplomacy to the test.  

This means that we have to work more together. 

And we have started doing that - well, not started because we have been doing that for months - but today’s discussion has provided us with a better idea of the security dimension of this situation. This has been a central discussion today, with President Zelenskyy, and Minister Kuleba. 

We have been talking about the security commitments that we want to provide to Ukraine, showing our determination to stand by Ukraine in the long term, to deter acts of aggression and resist the destabilisation efforts by Russia. 

You can imagine there are many different aspects under our sustained engagement. Let me start with the military side. 

I proposed a new bilateral multi-annual envelope under the European Peace Facility (EPF), of up to €5 billion for the next year, [and] more will come. I hope that we can reach an agreement before the end of the year when the Member States have to agree on the review of the Multiannual Financial Framework. 

We continue training Ukranian soldiers. The target today is to train 40,000 [soldiers] in the upcoming months, and this includes specialised training for fighter jets’ pilots. 

We are also working on strengthening the cooperation between the European and the Ukrainian defence industries. You had an important meeting here in Kyiv a few days ago.  

And we will continue working on increasing resilience, cyber defence and defence against hybrid threats such as disinformation and developing a common strategic communication.  

It is very important to increase our support on demining. This is a key condition for Ukraine’s economic recovery and reconstruction.  

We are also discussing about further promoting comprehensive reform of the law enforcement sector, accountability, and resilience, mainly via the strengthening of the existing EU Advisory Mission (EUAM Ukraine) that I had the opportunity to visit in Odesa. 

And, for sure, the strongest security commitment that we can give to Ukraine, is the European Union membership. This is the strongest security commitment for Ukraine. Now Ukraine is a candidate country, and it is going further on this path. 

We talked about war, military efforts, resilience, cyber-attacks, but we also talked about peace. We have to engage both on looking for peace and on the reforms needed for the accession process.  

By the end of the year, the European Council will receive the report of the [European] Commission on the Enlargement package that will be presented together by myself and Commissioner [for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver] Várhelyi.  

Another important issue is the continuous work on accountability, including the crime of aggression and inhumane actions such as the deportation of children. Russia has to pay for its aggression and for all its crimes.  

We will now take forward the work on these points, in close consultation with Ukraine. And, as I said before, together with the accession process there is the Peace Formula. We took note that President Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula is the only peace initiative discussed in the international community. Others were mentioned but they have disappeared. The only one that remains, the only one that attracts the attention and the work of the international community is President Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula. It is – we can say – the only game in town. It is “the” formula. We will continue working as the European Union to make it more global and the basis for the future peace.  

And I am going to hand to you Dmytro, but before that, let me underline that this joint meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers with Ukraine in Kyiv should be understood as a clear commitment of the European Union to Ukraine and its continued support in all dimensions. Its military support, its support for peace – for a just peace, for accountability and working for the [EU] membership path.

It is also sending a strong signal to Russia: we are not intimidated by your missiles or drones. Just after I left Odesa a new rain of drones fell in the Oblast of Odesa - just some minutes after I left the city.  

We are not intimidated by your drones or missiles. Our resolve to support the fight for freedom and independence of Ukraine is firm and will continue. Yes, we will continue standing for Ukraine.  

Thank you. 

Q&A 

Q. It looks like Russia prepares for a long war. The West seems more and more divided. Symbolism is one thing, but could you specify what you are doing to guarantee Ukraine long [term] support. 

The European Union remains united in its support to Ukraine. We remain united. I do not see any Member States faulting on their engagement to support Ukraine with the tools that we have. And what are we doing? I think that I have already explained. You want me to repeat again what I have been telling you. What will we do? We will do more of the same. More - putting on the table financial requests to the Member States that have to decide. On the civilian side - the economic support - which is as much as important as the military one because the economy of Ukraine cannot fall down, otherwise, there will not be any possibility of supporting the war effort. You know that there is a proposal for €50 billion. Then, on the military side, to revamp the European Peace Facility, with a dedicated European specific fund to continue supporting Ukraine. As I said, there is a figure for the next four years, and a commitment for the next year of [up to] €5 billion more. This is what we have to do. I understand there is no big news, but to do the same more and quicker, to provide quicker and in greater quantity our support is what Ukraine needs. That is what we continue doing. 

Q. [In Ukrainian] 

I do not know where this idea comes from. Who has talked about partial membership, half membership, 25% membership? Membership is membership, full stop. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-247061