What to expect from Trump and why Borrell came to Kyiv, how many shells the Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive from the EU by the end of the year and why EU membership should increase the country’s security, as well as Ukraine’s progress in European integration and why EU assistance to Ukraine is not really a matter of values. Josep Borrell tells in an interview with European Pravda, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, whose mandate will soon end which gives him the opportunity to be more open in his assessments.
“Ukraine is doing better than some states who have been preparing for membership for many years”
Some key quotes from the interview:
On Trump.
I cannot predict the intentions of the US administration, which does not yet exist. We don’t even know who will be the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defence. But I do know that the European Council has just reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to support Ukraine. The ten-year security agreement that the EU signed with Ukraine in June remains in force.
On weapons for Ukraine.
Yes, we would like to act faster. But we are what we are. The EU is a group of 27 member states with different views that need unanimity. But you remember that we started by offering helmets. And now we are supplying F-16s.
On progress in European integration.
Even a strong desire to be a member of the European Union is not enough. The process of reforms is needed to guarantee that all criteria will be fulfilled. It’s not because we wish it: it’s because these are our rules. But I want to note that in the latest enlargement report, which the European Commission approved on 30 October, Ukraine is recognised as having a very good result, much better than some other states that have been preparing for membership for many years.
