European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said that it was imperative for the EU to address the issue of its enlargement as soon as possible to include countries such as Ukraine and Moldova to guarantee they do not fall under the influence of Russia or China.
Speaking in Madrid, Von der Leyen said the bloc must look forward four years and imagine what the union should be like.
“Can we imagine the European Union will be without Ukraine, without Moldova, without the Western Balkans? And those parts of Europe are under the influence of Russia or China? Impossible,” she said.
Photo: AFP
“So, the direction of travel is clear. And therefore, now we have to start to think about how are we making sure that Europe is whole, that those countries are part of the European Union,” she said.
Von der Leyen spoke alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez following a meeting of EU commissioners and the Spanish government to review Spain’s plans for its six-month presidency of the EU Council, which began on Saturday.
Von der Leyen said the enlargement issue must be addressed “as soon as possible, because it will take us time to come to a conclusion.”
Continued support for Ukraine in its war with Russia was high on the agenda at the meeting and a priority for the Spanish presidency.
“We must double down on our support for Ukraine. It has now been almost 500 days since Russia’s brutal invasion,” Von der Leyen said, praising the impressive resistance of Ukrainians.
“Now it is our duty to match that endurance and that perseverance. This includes reliable and regular financial support,” she said, recalling that the commission is proposing 50 billion euros (US$55 billion) in budget and rebuilding support until 2027.
EU officials estimate that the bloc’s institutions and 27 member states have provided about 75 billion euros in aid, arms and ammunition since the war began in February last year.
The EU provides 1.8 billion euros each month to help Ukraine keep its economy afloat.
Sanchez started the presidency on Saturday with a lightning visit to Kyiv to underline the bloc’s support of Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
Sanchez was adamant about keeping up that support in aid and arms.
“Europe and Ukraine together until victory and freedom,” he said on Monday.
Von der Leyen and her team arrived on Monday for the one-day meeting in Madrid, the first major event of the Spanish presidency, which ends on Dec. 31. The meeting was held in the new Royal Collections Gallery museum.
In addition to Ukraine, a migration pact, EU relations with Latin America and the reindustrialization of Europe are among Spain’s presidency priorities.
Von der Leyen and Sanchez expressed confidence that the EU would finalize a controversial pact on migration, despite lingering differences within the 27-nation group with Poland and Hungary.
Earlier this month, EU countries made a breakthrough on asylum law reform, sealing an agreement on a plan to share responsibility for migrants entering Europe without authorization.
Only Poland and Hungary voted against it.
EU lawmakers have said that this might be the last chance to solve the issue before EU-wide elections in a year’s time, when migration is likely to be a hot-button issue once again.
The visit by the Commission College was initially scheduled for tomorrow and Friday, but was brought forward so as not to take place in the middle of the campaign for Spain’s general election on July 23.
Von der Leyen said she was confident the election results would not have an impact on the objectives or agenda of the presidency.
Polls shows the vote could oust Sanchez’s leftist coalition government and replace it with a conservative administration, or even a coalition with the extreme right, following a trend in much of Europe.
Von der Leyen and Sanchez also expressed confidence that accords on rebuilding intra-European supply chains to avoid shortages and guarantee energy sovereignty would be reached during the presidency, as well as agreements on establishing European dominance in the fields of artificial intelligence and digital security.
The two also highlighted the importance of a EU-Latin America summit set for July 17 and 18 in Brussels, the first in eight years, and the need to move forward on a trade agreement that was reached between the EU and the Mercosur states — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Sanchez also promised progress on an EU green transition and electricity market reform.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
RSS