Check against delivery!  

Good afternoon, everybody.  

Prime Minister, dear Denys, it is a pleasure to host the 10^th Association Council with Ukraine, and also my first with Ukraine – it is also my first with you. 

I, of course, wish it was under different circumstances, but it is under the circumstances where Russia is still waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, and it shows no signs of abating.

Since Ukraine accepted the non-conditional ceasefire, Russia's attacks have only increased. Last weekend we saw the deadliest single attack on Ukrainian children since the start of the full-scale invasion. Our condolences for that.   

Ukraine is fighting a war that only Russia wants to continue. The urgency of international support to Ukraine is also very clear. As [the] President of Ukraine recently reiterated, Ukraine urgently needs large calibre ammunition: 2 million rounds will be our contribution in this regard. We know that it is available on the market, we just need to get our act together.  

The EU and our Member States can deliver this. Already this year, since we started reaching out to Member States, Ukraine is receiving more than 1 million rounds either in orders or in pledges. And I will definitely continue to work to reach this 2 million rounds this year.  

In parallel, Ukraine will soon receive the rest from the first tranche of windfall profits, it is €1.4 billion from Russian immobilised assets. We aim for the second tranche, €2.1 billion, to be delivered gradually from the end of this month. The bulk of this €1 billion will support your own defence industry. 

In the longer term, we are working towards the integration of the Ukrainian and the EU defence industries. So, companies in the European Union have a lot to learn from Ukraine in this regard. This includes from Ukraine's ability to build thriving and innovative drone industry while under attack, and from your strong industrial base that you built by encouraging hundreds of defence start-ups.  

Our cooperation goes beyond the defence. Over the last decade, European Union and Ukraine have become closer and closer.  

We see this today: for example, in your determination to fight corruption. We see this in the fact that, [in] less than 10 years, the EU has become Ukraine's largest trading partner, which shows that our companies believe in Ukraine. 

We also see this in Ukraine's alignment of the Ukrainian foreign policy with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.  

And today we signed also 5 new agreements with Ukraine. These cover everything from rebuilding Ukraine's energy infrastructure to participating in our Copernicus satellite programme. 

Since the last EU-Ukraine Association Council, we have also made good progress in screening process of Ukrainian legislation for compatibility with European law. And this is the first stage of accession negotiations. Of course, Commissioner Kos will go for more detail about this. And there are no shortcuts on the path of Ukrainian membership in the European Union. But Ukraine, even in the middle of the war, has shown time and time again its dedication to the European path and the reforms.   

Dear Denys, again it is a pleasure to welcome you here in Brussels for the Association Council and thank you for this meeting today. 

It was already very clear, like the Member States reiterated, your future is in the European Union. So, we continue to work for this and we also continue to look forward greeting you as a member of European Union one day. 

Thank you. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270408  

Q&A 

Q. What are the obstacles for getting to 2 million rounds this year and given what you mentioned about continued Russian attacks on Ukraine, do you think it is useful that the US and Russia are continuing their negotiating process?  

On your question on the 2 million rounds initiative: the good thing is that things are moving. We are seeing different Member States coming up with their announcements for the rounds. Recently, France announced €2 billion, Germany pledged €12 billion over next years, Sweden pledged €1.4 million, Belgium yesterday announced [€]1 billion. All together, we are already in calculating is providing over 50% of this Ukraine ammunition needs of this year, but of course it's 50%. We still need to work on that. What is the main obstacle? The main obstacle is of course money, the funding. We have done the Rearm [Europe Plan/Readiness 2030] and given the fiscal possibilities to do this, but it is up to the Member States to make the decisions.  

Then, on your second question on the US and Russian negotiation process. So, it takes two to want peace, but it only takes one to want war and this is clearly what we see. Right now, Russia wants war and continues with these attacks that are horrendous and more serious than ever. Attacking children directly when no military buildings or military organisations [are] around, by attacking this civilian population. Therefore, Russia is clearly showing that they do not want peace. Now, the question is: what are we doing about this? And I think the right answer is to really put the pressure on the one who wants war, which is Russia, for them to actually want peace. 

Q. I wonder if I could have your reaction to the developments that we heard yesterday from President Zelenskyy. He informed that the army had captured two Chinese citizens fighting alongside the Russian army inside Ukraine. They suspect other Chinese citizens might be involved in the war as well. What is your reaction to that? Because it is obviously very concerning and how do you think it could impact EU-China relations in this moment that they can work closer on trade?  

Yes, we heard the news and of course we had the discussions also with the Prime Minister Shmyhal about this and asked: what do we know about this? And of course, it does not mean that the Chinese army is involved, but of course they can share the information that they know about this. What is clear is that China is the key enabler of Russia's war. Without Chinese support, Russia would not be able to wage war in the amount that they are waging this. We see that 80% of the dual use goods are actually entering Russia via China. We also see the North Korean troops present in Ukraine and the military equipment coming from North Korea to Russia [used in the] the war against Ukraine. It is clear that if China would want to really stop the support, then it would have an impact. 

Q. If I may follow up on the China issue. We have seen the readout of the President’s conversation yesterday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang asking him to engage in a peace solution, but in the readout there was no mention of China as key enabler of Russia’s war. I am wondering if there is a tradeoff here: cooperation with China in front of the trade war of Mr. Trump on one side, and on the other side the issue of Russian war and if you are ready to fall for such a tradeoff. 

These are a very difficult times that we are living in. We see United States and China really having this immense trade war. And, of course, what we see around the world is that everybody is looking for new trade partners. When it comes to Europe, 87% of the global trade is with third countries. That is the picture. Of course, everybody wants to diversify their portfolios. It is clear that China has been the key enabler of Russia’s war of aggression. NATO has stated this also in their statements. Now, the question is: how are we getting this message across China? Definitely China wants to have good trading relations with Europe - as we are a very big market. We do not want the overcapacity to our market and at the same time we want this war to stop. That also requires cooperation from the Chinese side. This is the theatre where we have to operate and find solutions. 

Thank you.  

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270636