Denmark commits $21 mln to speed up European integration for Ukraine and Moldova
The Danish government has decided to allocate 150 million Danish kroner (equivalent to over $21 million) to support Ukraine and Moldova as they progress towards joining the European Union. The funds are planned to be provided until 2030.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark reported that, according to "European Pravda."
As stated by the Danish agency, the funds will be allocated to support the two countries in establishing the necessary administrative structures and legislation to progress towards EU membership.
In the long term, support will also extend to candidate countries from the Western Balkans.
"The successful enlargement of the EU is crucial for the stability of Europe. It strengthens the security of all of us when the EU's neighboring countries strengthen their European roots and reach for the opportunities of peace, stability, and prosperity that the EU represents," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said.
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It should be noted that in the afternoon, on June 25, the first Intergovernmental Conference on Ukraine's accession to the EU will be held in Luxembourg, which will give an official start to negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
The intergovernmental conference with Ukraine is scheduled for 16:30 Kyiv time. It will be followed by a similar first Intergovernmental Conference on Moldova's accession to the EU, scheduled for 19:00 Kyiv time.
The conference will consist of three parts:
- opening statement of Belgium as the country holding the EU presidency;
- statement of Ukraine;
- speeches and comments of member states.
At the conference, the EU will present to Ukraine the general framework of the negotiations, which establish the key principles of the negotiation process.
The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration Olha Stefanishyna, and the European delegation by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Hadja Lahbib
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, emphasized that Ukraine will be three steps away from full membership in the European Union after the EU accession negotiations, which will begin on June 25, are completed.
According to him, these three steps, in particular, will be:
- the European Commission's conclusion on the successful completion of negotiations and Ukraine's fulfillment of the accession requirements;
- the decision to sign the Agreement on Ukraine's accession to the EU;
- ratification of the agreement by the parliaments of the EU member states and Ukraine's attainment of full membership in the European Union.
It is worth adding that President Volodymyr Zelensky said that June 25, when the negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU should begin, will be the day that the Ukrainian state has been working toward for decades. According to him, Ukraine cannot be diverted from the path to a united Europe.
