- According to EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Russia cannot expect EU sanctions to be lifted in the foreseeable future.
- Against the background of the Ukraine war, the President of the Commission swore the EU citizens to expect the difficult winter months ahead.
- Von der Leyen also announced that the energy companies’ excessive profits should be skimmed off and used to support the population.
“I don’t want to leave any doubt that the sanctions will last,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her speech on the state of the European Union in Strasbourg.
Moscow is responsible for the fact that the Russian economy is falling behind. “This is the price of Putin’s trail of death and destruction.” The EU’s punitive measures against Russia are the toughest sanctions the world has ever seen.
This is the price of Putin’s trail of death.
She also said that Europe has stood by Ukraine since day one and will continue to do so in the long term. The country was helped with weapons, financial support and the admission of refugees.
“So far, Team Europe has provided financial aid of more than 19 billion euros,” said von der Leyen. This does not include military support.
Embrace hard times
“The coming months will not be easy,” said the German politician in her speech on the state of the EU in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “Neither for families who have difficulty making ends meet, nor for companies that have to make difficult decisions about the future.”
There is a lot at stake not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe and the whole world. “We will be tested,” she said.
Russia’s war is not only a war against Ukraine. “This is a war on our energy supplies, a war on our economy, a war on our values and a war on our future.”
This is a war against our economy, against our values and against our future.
Autocracy fights against democracy. She is firmly convinced that with courage and solidarity, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be defeated and that Europe will ultimately gain the upper hand.
Von der Leyen travels to Kyiv
Von der Leyen wants to travel to the country attacked by Russia again to support Ukraine. The German politician said she would hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.
It would be von der Leyen’s third trip to Ukraine since Russia attacked the country on February 24. In April she visited the Kiev suburb of Bucha, where war crimes had recently come to light.
In June, she spoke to Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv about outstanding issues in Ukraine’s EU application. In the meantime, the 27 EU states have granted Ukraine the status of an EU candidate.
Call Ukraine without additional costs?
Work must be done to ensure that Ukraine has access to the European internal market and vice versa. «Our single market is one of the biggest success stories in Europe. Now it’s time to make it a success story for our Ukrainian friends as well,” said von der Leyen.
It also wants to enable calls and text messages to Ukraine without additional costs. Specifically, in her State of the Union address, she said that Ukraine should be included in the EU’s free roaming zone.
This would make it possible for Ukrainian mobile phone customers to surf the web in the EU without additional costs. The same would apply to consumers in the EU traveling in Ukraine.