Scholz to lobby for Ukraine’s accession to EU at European Council summit

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will lobby in Brussels during a meeting with EU heads of state and government on December 14-15 for the continued financial support for Ukraine and the start of negotiations on the country's accession to the European Union.

He stated this in the Bundestag on Wednesday in a "government statement" ahead of the European Council summit, reports an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I will stand for sustainable aid to Ukraine because it is about the security of Europe," Scholz said, calling at the same time to be "realistic" with regard to the position of individual countries.

The head of the German government also assured that the federal government fully supports the proposal of the European Commission to launch negotiations with Ukraine and other candidate countries regarding EU membership.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on November 8, the European Commission recommended that the European Council open negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU. It also recommended, under certain conditions, to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and grant the status of a candidate country to Georgia.

On December 14, the European Council is to consider the issue of launching negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

During its meeting on December 9, the Verkhovna Rada approved an appeal to the EU member states and institutions with a request to support the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Photo: Bundestag