EU to continue providing comprehensive strong support to Ukraine

TALLINN – Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets attended the General Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss support for Ukraine, the prospect of the country's accession to the European Union and exchange views on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Liimets stressed that the EU must continue to fully support the Ukrainian people and country and put pressure on Russia to end this monstrous war. "I consider the European Commission's activity towards Ukraine's accession process to be very important, because Ukrainians now need strong messages that give them confidence in their country's future. In the war with Russia, Ukraine now stands equally for its democratic development and independence, as well as for the security and values of Europe," the minister said.

Speaking about the millions of Ukrainian war refugees, Liimets said that the European Union must now do its utmost to help these people in every way possible and to support its member states in receiving them. "Continued EU support and additional resources are important to help with the accommodation of refugees and other assistance, the need for which is unfortunately growing every day," the minister added.

At the General Affairs Council, the foreign ministers also discussed the topic of the Conference on the Future of Europe. "Citizens' ideas, opinions and voices in all our member states are very important in shaping the future of the European Union. The aim of the whole enterprise is to give our people's words even more weight in what the European Union does and how it works for them," Liimets said. The conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe will be made on May 9.

The European Semester and the regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations were also on the agenda on Tuesday.