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The first payments of €500 million of immediate assistance to Ukraine have reached the country to address its most urgent needs. These funds are part of the second €1.59 billion package of the EIB's Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response developed in close cooperation with the European Commission.

Madam President, Honourable Members, My fellow Europeans, Never before has this Parliament debated the State of our Union with war raging on European soil.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, the EU, EU Member States and European financial institutions, as Team Europe, have disbursed €47.7 billion in support of partner countries in addressing the pandemic and its consequences, delivering on its promises with concrete results.

In a joint assessment released today, the Government of Ukraine, the European Commission, and the World Bank, in cooperation with partners, estimate that the current cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine amounts to $349 billion (€349 billion).

Ahead of President von der Leyen's State of the Union address, which will take place in Strasbourg on 14 September 2022, the Commission has released an overview of its work and achievements over the past year.

The European Commission has today proposed a further €5 billion in macro-financial assistance (MFA) loans to Ukraine as the second part of the exceptional MFA package of up to €9 billion announced in the Commission's communication of 18 May 2022 and endorsed by the European Council of 23-24 June

Today Bosnia and Herzegovina becomes a full member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism – the European solidarity framework that helps countries overwhelmed by a disaster.

The 7th meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Council took place in Brussels and was co-chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili.

Today, the 8th EU-Ukraine Association Council takes place in Brussels to discuss the EU-Ukraine bilateral agenda, notably the implementation of the Association Agreement and state of play of EU-Ukraine cooperation.

Thank you very much. I also want to welcome Prime Minister Shmyhal. First, we need to applaud the resilience of the people of Ukraine and the resistance the people of Ukraine and its state are showing.

On 26 August, the EU received a request for potassium iodide tablets from the Government of Ukraine as a preventative safety measure to increase the level of protection around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

24 August marks Ukraine's national day, which commemorates the declaration of independence in 1991. In the midst of Russia's brutal aggression, the European Commission joins Ukraine in celebrating its thirty-first year of independence.

To commemorate the Europe-Wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes tomorrow, President von der Leyen issued the following statement:

Our world continues to be shaken by violent conflicts and destructive natural disasters that often push local communities into humanitarian crises.

Ahead of the next EU-Georgia Association Council on 6 September 2022, the European Union published its annual Association Implementation Report on Georgia on Friday. The report reviews Georgia's implementation of reforms under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement over the past year.

As of today, the EU has coordinated the delivery of 66,224 tonnes of in-kind assistance to Ukraine from 30 countries via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

This Tuesday marks the second anniversary of the 9 August 2020 fraudulent presidential elections that have stripped Belarusians of the opportunity to freely choose their own future.

As of today, the EU has successfully coordinated 1,000 medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients via its Civil Protection Mechanism to provide them with specialised healthcare in hospitals across Europe.

Nineteen civil society organisations (CSOs) have started implementing projects to address the urgent needs among conflict-affected communities.