“We fight for survival”
Zelenskyj gives an emotional speech to the EU
03/01/2022 1:36 p.m
At the end, those present in the EU Parliament applauded standing: Volodymyr Zelenskyj addressed the plenum in a video message. The Ukrainian President reiterates his call for his country to join the EU. “Without you, Ukraine will be alone.”
In an emotional appeal to the European Parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urgently called for his country’s admission to the European Union. “We are fighting for our rights, for our freedom, for our lives. And now we are fighting to survive,” Zelenskyy said in a video message at the beginning of a special session of parliament.
“But we are also fighting to be equal members of Europe,” Zelensky said, according to the parliamentary translation. “The European Union will be much stronger with us. That’s for sure,” Zelenskyj said. “Without you, Ukraine will be alone.” Ukraine has proven its strength. “Prove that you are with us. (…) Prove that you are actually European.” Then life will win against war.
MEPs and heads of other EU institutions gave the Ukrainian President a standing ovation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel also attended the special session of Parliament, where many MPs wore the colors of the Ukrainian flag – yellow and blue.
Council President Michel spoke of a “symbolic and legitimate request” from Ukraine. On Monday, he pointed out that the EU states did not have the necessary unanimity to open accession negotiations. After the debate, the EU Parliament intends to pass a non-binding resolution calling for Ukraine to have “EU candidate status”. At the same time, Michel accused Russia of “geopolitical terrorism”.
A few days after the Russian attack on his country, Zelenskyy had already called for an “immediate admission of Ukraine according to a new special procedure” on Monday. Joining the EU is usually complicated and lengthy. In his own video message to the European Parliament on Tuesday, the President of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, also urged his country to join the EU.