Belgian PM confirms support for Ukraine's EU candidacy during call with Zelensky

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday afternoon. They talked about, among other things, Ukraine's candidate membership, which will be discussed on Thursday at the European Council. Prime Minister De Croo confirmed to Zelensky that Belgium would support Ukraine's candidate status.

Last Friday, the European Commission formally recommended offering Ukraine a European perspective and granting it candidate membership, on condition that Ukraine carries out a number of reforms. The formal decision on the status to be granted to Kiev will be made at the European summit on Thursday.

"Tomorrow, as European member states, we will send an important signal: Ukraine belongs to the European family. Today, the Ukrainians are fighting for our European values of freedom and democracy," Prime Minister De Croo said in a statement after the meeting. "With the granting of candidate status, the work for Ukraine is only just beginning, a work of many years. It will require a great deal of effort, for example to tackle corruption and build a functioning rule of law. But I am convinced that it is precisely the reconstruction of Ukraine that offers a great opportunity to take important steps forward."

Prime Minister De Croo and President Zelensky also discussed the reconstruction of Ukraine. Zelensky thanked Belgium for its support and invited him on Twitter to visit Ukraine. "Thanks for the support to grant Ukraine candidate status for European membership and the important assistance during the full-scale invasion by Russia. We expect Belgium to make a significant contribution to the reconstruction of Ukraine. I invited the Prime Minister to visit Ukraine."

(TOM)

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