Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on the occasion of the special meeting of the European Council of 9 February 2023

Mr President, dear Volodymyr,

Thank you for coming to the heart of the European Union. Thank you for the strong message we heard from you. Your fight is a fight for independence, for democracy and for a free Europe. I did not only hear your strong and powerful message in the European Parliament but also here in the European Council. And I heard your urgency. We all heard the urgency of your call to support Ukraine now. You spoke in a very moving manner, praising the European way of life. And you added that Ukrainians want to come home to this European way of life. And indeed, today, you see that we are one family; we have one vision. And family members help each other. You can count on us. We will continue to provide our full support. Now, to sustain your people through this atrocious war. And for the future. Ukrainians are giving their lives for a free and independent Ukraine. They are fighting for the respect of our common values.

We know that we can never match the sacrifices Ukrainians are making every single day. But we can stand up for you. One figure that puts it into perspective is EUR 67 billion. EUR 67 billion of support we have mobilised in the last 12 months – from budget support to fast recovery; from energy supply to military capabilities; from humanitarian aid to refugee support. And we must do more. This urgency is, I think, the takeaway of the message we heard from you today. And we must do more.

We are supporting Ukraine to win this war, and we are making sure that Ukraine wins the peace that will come. It must be a just peace. We fully back your Peace Formula, dear Volodymyr. The European Union is working with its partners to support Ukraine across the ten points of your Peace Formula, from economic security, to nuclear safety, food security, energy, among others. And we will work hard to ensure the broadest possible global support for it. A just peace also means accountability.

This brings me to my second point: Russia must pay for the destruction caused and for the blood spilt. In the next days, we will propose the tenth package of sanctions. First, we will impose sanctions on a number of political and military leaders. But also, dear Volodymyr, we listened very carefully to your messages when we visited you last week in Kyiv. We will target Putin's propagandists. Because their lies are poisoning the public space in Russia and abroad. You were insisting on that. We hear you. We will follow up. And we are going after them.

Secondly, the package will include additional export bans worth more than EUR 10 billion. This will further starve Russia's military machine and continue to shake the foundation of its economy. And the international community is also working hard to ensure that justice is served. Three steps are important. The first one is that we collect and store evidence of the crimes being committed. We have already started. The second step is to have prosecutors work together. For that, we are setting up the centre in The Hague. And the next step is to set up a tribunal. Here, the discussions are ongoing about the exact structure. But I assure you, Volodymyr, we have the political will to hold the perpetrator accountable, including for the crime of aggression. There is the political will, so we must find a way.

Finally, on our common future: Ukraine's youth is fighting for their sovereign country. Too many are paying the ultimate price. But their dreams live on. Dreams of a new Ukraine. Not only free, democratic and European, but also fair, green and prosperous. We are already laying the groundwork. We have built the reconstruction platform, which has now gone live. Our partners start seconding experts to the secretariat, which we are hosting in Brussels and in Kyiv. The response to our call is amazing. Our cities are joining, too. 36 European cities, from Vilnius to Venice, will work with 10 cities in Ukraine, like Kharkiv and Kyiv. This is the living proof of the enormous support you have all over the European Union. And as you said, every single person counts. You said it very powerfully in the European Parliament. It is for us, the politicians, yes, but every person in the European Union counts to contribute to support Ukraine.

Ukraine is advancing on its European path in an impressive manner. Accession is a merits-based process. And your track record shows that you are able to deliver fast and with high quality – even as you fight an aggressor, even as you are at war. I hear Ukrainian people so often speak about their hopes. They want their children to grow up in the European Union. And this hope gives them the strength to cope with this horrible war.

Dear Volodymyr,

Between now and this bright future, there may be a hard road to tread. But rest assured that we will be with you along every step of the way. Let us turn their Ukrainian dreams into reality, into the European way of life. Since the beginning of my mandate, I have concluded every single speech with the words ‘long live Europe'. For one year, for a good purpose, we always add ‘Slava Ukraini' to the words ‘long live Europe'.