Macron reiterates call for full, lasting EU support for Ukraine, accession

The European Union should support Ukraine’s EU integration as Europeans should be “ready to give Ukraine full and long-lasting support”, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his position on the matter as Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob joined him in Paris on Wednesday.

During Golob’s visit to Paris, Macron stressed that the two countries were “determined to support Ukraine for as long as necessary in military, economic, humanitarian and diplomatic domains.”

Supporting Ukraine is necessary because “it puts into question our collective security and respect for the international order based on law and our shared values”, explained Macron.

Macron’s reiteration comes ahead of the expected tense European Council summit on Thursday and Friday – with the questions of aid to Ukraine, EU enlargement and EU treaty reform on the table.

With regard to providing financial aid to Ukraine, the Commission suggested in June a plan to provide long-term assistance to Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis proposed to secure €50 billion in joint aid for a period running from 2024 to 2027.

It is now up to the EU heads of state and government at the European Council to reach a unanimous political agreement on the amount and duration of the joint aid package.

But it will likely be difficult to reach a joint position, particularly with the positions of the Hungarian and Slovak prime ministers, Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, who have a markedly pro-Russian rhetoric.

So far, only Orbán has announced his opposition to any financial aid for Ukraine. When Macron received Orbán at the Élysée Palace last week, the French president tried to dissuade the Hungarian prime minister from vetoing any decision on the matter.

Strengthening his position on the eve of the opening of the negotiations, Macron on Wednesday called on the EU to commit “to full and lasting support for Ukraine”, while new Russian rocket attacks last night injured around fifty people in Kyiv and Odesa.

Another point of disagreement is the European Commission’s proposal to open EU integration negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.

On Wednesday, Orbán reiterated that opening these accession negotiations would be “a terrible mistake”.

Hungary’s President stated again on Wednesday that he would oppose “Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU”, even after the Commission unblocked more than €10 billion in EU funds intended for Hungary and frozen because of rule of law violations.

The Commission explained that this release was due to improvements in the country’s judicial system independence. Some MEPs, such as Alin Mituța, co-rapporteur on “Parliamentarism, European citizenship and democracy”, wrote on X his disappointment in what he considers a weakness of the EU executive. €21 billion of EU funds intended for Hungary are still frozen.

“We share France’s position on the importance of starting accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and of granting candidate status to Georgia,” Golob said on X at the end of the day.

Eventually, Macron and Golob reiterated that their support for EU enlargement was conditional on treaty reforms.

However, according to a European source, the European Council is unlikely to reach a common position on this issue, pushed in a report by the European Parliament in November.

“The discussions we will have tomorrow will be decisive”, concluded Macron, a position Golob approved with a nod.

(Hugo Struna, Théophane Hartmann | Euractiv.fr)

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