Costa: EU leaders reach three important agreements on Ukraine
European Council President António Costa says EU leaders have reached three important agreements on Ukraine: financial support for Ukraine, sanctions, and the shadow fleet.
He stated this on Thursday in Brussels following the meeting of the European Council.
“Earlier this month, after our informal meeting in Copenhagen, I said today would be decision time. And we delivered. On all fronts. I would like to start by thanking Ursula von der Leyen and the Commission for the excellent cooperation, once again, in the preparation of this European Council. Starting with Ukraine. We have said many times that we will support Ukraine as much as necessary for as long as it takes. Today, we reached three important agreements,” the President of the European Council stated.
Costa named the first agreements as the commitments of European leaders to ensure that Ukraine's financial needs are covered over the next two years. “We have asked the Commission to put forward ‘options’ as soon as possible, so that Ukraine has the resources it needs to continue defending itself and fight for a just and lasting peace in 2026 and 2027, if it’s necessary. Russia should take good note of this: Ukraine will have the financial resources it needs to defend itself against Russia’s aggression in the foreseeable future,” the President of the European Council emphasized.
According to him, the technical, legal and financial aspects of support for Europe will now be worked out. “We will return to this issue in the December European Council,” the President of the European Council reported.
He named the adoption of the 19th package of sanctions as the second important agreement, which “will increase our pressure on Russia and further damage its war machine.”
Costa said the third agreement was that member states agreed to strengthen measures and coordinate actions to combat Russia's shadow fleet. “To sum up: we continue to use all means at our disposal to put Ukraine in a position of strength if and when negotiations with Putin start. We hope this moment comes soon. But no matter the circumstances, our message is clear: Europe will not let Ukraine down,” the European Council President stated.
