von der Leyen: “EU Accession Exclusively Based on Criteria, but Ukraine Has Made Remarkable Progress”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated today in Gdańsk at the third International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine that there can be no debate about whether candidates join the European Union based on fulfilled criteria, but that Ukraine has achieved remarkable progress in a short time and, if it continues in this way, its future in the EU is guaranteed.

“Ukrainians are determined that their European choice cannot be broken. Now it is our task to turn that determination into reality. This is a historic moment as the first cluster is being opened, remarkable progress is being recognized, and this is a sign that Ukraine belongs to the European family. Enlargement is more than a process. It is the anchor of Ukraine’s future,” said the European official at the opening of the two-day conference.

The President of the European Commission reminded that the first cluster includes fundamental European values, such as the rule of law, strong democratic institutions, efficient public administration, and that there is also a roadmap.

“Enlargement based on fulfilled criteria is not a matter for debate. But if Ukraine continues like this, its place in the EU will become a reality,” said Ursula von der Leyen.

The President of the European Commission called on investors to invest in Ukraine already now, as Ukraine is already advancing towards the single European market.

“This is a good proposal. Ukraine’s future prosperity requires massive investments now. Since the beginning of the war, the EU has invested 200 billion euros, and now another 90 billion for the next two years. Today I am announcing a tranche of 3.2 billion euros in microfinancial assistance,” the official said.

Ursula von der Leyen recalled, as did German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after her, that they want public money provided by the governments and development banks of Germany, Poland, Italy, and France, together with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, to attract private investment.

The goal is to mobilize around one billion euros of private capital for investments in strategic sectors, for the reconstruction of energy and key infrastructure, because, as Merz said, state aid alone can never raise enough funds for the reconstruction of a war-torn and devastated country like Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko assessed that Russia is weaker on the front, but increasingly aggressive, and that Ukraine has no choice but to fight for survival through European solidarity, with millions of small steps and projects.

“We expect the signing of 160 contracts. We were forced to innovate to survive. That is why Ukraine can also strengthen European energy and defense,” said the Ukrainian Prime Minister, especially thanking the Poles for standing in solidarity with Ukraine and helping from the very beginning.

Donald Tusk, regardless of strained relations due to the war and the awarding of orders by the presidents of Poland and Ukraine, which led Volodymyr Zelensky to cancel his visit to Gdańsk, told Yulia Svyrydenko: “Yulia, feel at home.”

“We have a great historic mission ahead of us, and that is the complete unification of Europe and the free world against the aggression and instability into which the whole world has sunk in recent years. Thousands of people will spend two days preparing a major project for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. In Gdańsk, you can see what a miracle of reconstruction means,” Tusk recalled the destruction of almost the entire city center and the reconstruction and renewal of Gdańsk after the Second World War.

On the occasion of disputes and various interpretations of the shared painful history of Poles and Ukrainians, which escalated in the revocation and demonstrative return of the Polish Order of the White Eagle, awarded to Zelensky, Tusk said that European futures can only be achieved if countries are ready for reconciliation.

“Ukraine has the right to want to be part of a united Europe. The condition is understanding one’s own history and readiness for reconciliation. Who would have thought after the Second World War that we Germans and French, we Poles and Germans and the British, would be able to talk about the past so that our future would be better,” said Tusk.