Visa ban, macro-financial aid and EU integration: Zelenskyy had phone call with President of European Commission

SUNDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2022, 14:22

On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine reported that he had had a phone call with Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Twitter, European Pravda

Zelenskyy states that they agreed that Ukraine should receive the next tranche of EU macro-financial aid as soon as possible. Media outlets report that Ministers of Economic Affairs of the EU member states will sign a political declaration in support of the € 5 billion in macro-financial aid for Ukraine at the end of next week in Prague.

Apart from that, Zelenskyy emphasised the need for the 8th sanctions package, which must include a visa ban for Russian citizens. At the moment, the EU only decided to suspend the agreement about the simplified visa regime for Russians; this will make it harder for Russians to travel to the EU, but still will  not make such trips impossible.

The Ukrainian President also reported that he and von der Leyen also coordinated the steps that would prevent Russia from receiving excess profits from selling oil and gas.

They separately discussed the integration of Ukraine into the EU. "We considered the possibility of a quick assessment by the European Commission [of Ukraine’s potential] as soon as Ukraine fulfils the seven recommendations [of the Commission]", Zelenskyy added.

Earlier, Matti Maasikas, the EU Ambassador, explained the next steps in the procedure for Ukraine’s EU entry.

Read also: The path to the EU. What Ukraine must do to starts talks about the membership

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