Opening remarks by President von der Leyen at the College-to-Government meeting in Ukraine

Thank you so much, Prime Minister, dear Denys,

Excellencies, 

Dear colleagues, 

My dear friends,

Today marks a very bleak anniversary. Three years of war and destruction. Three years of senseless human tragedies. But also, three years of unbelievable courage, incredible resilience and remarkable bravery from the Ukrainian people – all of the Ukrainian people.

I speak on behalf of all my College when I express here today, dear Denys, our deepest and most sincere admiration. Admiration for how you continue to resist to Russia's attacks. But admiration also for all that you have achieved in the midst of this atrocious war and absolute chaos. All the reforms that you have already passed, heavy reforms, difficult reforms, while you are fighting a war; and all the efforts that you are undertaking to join our Union – we are deeply impressed by what you are delivering at lightning speed. We will continue to support you on that path towards the European Union membership in any way possible. Our commitment to Ukraine is and will remain unwavering. What is at stake is not only Ukraine's right to exist as a free nation but also the future of our European continent. Our message is very clear. We support all diplomatic efforts that include you. We endorse negotiations that lead to a just and lasting peace. And we will back a peace agreement that takes into account your interests. In the same vein, our position towards Russia is equally rock solid. We will continue to intensify pressure against Russia and its war machine through our unprecedented economic sanctions. And we will continue to hold Russia responsible and accountable for the many crimes it has committed. We will not forget Bucha – I personally will never forget Bucha, I was there days after the mass killing, and I remember we met there for the first time –, we will never forget Mariupol, and so many other atrocities. Ukraine can count on us. And today you have my College, here in Kyiv, with you. We will now discuss all the steps we are taking to shape our common future. 

First, of course we will look at the accession to the European Union. We are working hard together to open negotiations on clusters in the first half of 2025. And we are already integrating Ukraine into the EU's internal market, an important step forward, so that your efforts to join our Union are already rewarded this year. As an example, the integrating of Ukraine into the EU's 'roam like at home' area – specifically for the young people, they love it always, when we finally make it – but also the early EU market access for Ukrainian industrial products so that we open already sectors of the Single Market for your products to come to the Single Market, the growth plan that we have together.

Second, we also want to boost our cooperation on defence. Here, it is the other way around: We can learn a lot from you. Ukraine has a highly innovative and thriving defence industry. It is impressive to see how fast you have learnt, the impressive start-ups you have, with young people who are for example producing drones cheaper, fast and more intelligent. So we are learning from you. Therefore, we will increase our support through the EU Defence Innovation Office that we have in Kyiv and work on integrating the Ukrainian defence industry into the European defence ecosystem. But this also really means that our industry is coming to Ukraine to learn from the Ukrainian defence industry.

Third, we will hold Russia accountable as there will not be any lasting peace without justice. This is why it is so important that we have made decisive progress in establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. From day one on, we have been working towards that goal.

Fourth, we want greater energy security for both Ukraine and the European Union. We have prepared an ambitious package to that end, which we are bringing here today to Ukraine. We have worked very hard during this winter – actually, it is not the first winter, we have also worked during the winter before – to keep the lights on and the houses warm in Ukraine. And I really want to thank all of those who have been involved in this hard work for making it possible. Because I remember very well at the beginning of this winter, we were so worried that we would not be able, with all of Russia's targeted destruction of the energy infrastructure, to keep the energy system up and running. We have provided 1.8 gigawatts of energy. This is due to your consistent work in this field. So thank you very much for that. But we are also looking forward: We want to fully integrate Ukraine's electricity market in our electricity market. We want to seize the full potential of Ukraine's vast gas storages, thus generating income for Ukraine. And of course, we want to invest in Ukraine's renewable energy capacity.

And finally, while we are supporting Ukraine, this is not only about business, which is important: But it is mostly about people. And I am thinking here of the 700,000 displaced Ukrainian children, who pursue their education in schools across the European Union. Or of the Ukrainian students, who could find a new learning environment thanks to Erasmus+. And of the 4.5 million Ukrainians who found safety across European Member States, but who are longing to go back home And for that, we need a just and lasting peace.

This is more than human capital we are speaking about. This is the people of Europe shaping their common European future together.

So, dear Denys,

I look very much forward to having now a very productive exchange between the College and the government.