The visit came amidst concerns for waning support for Ukraine as the turmoil in the Middle East captures much of the global attention.
According to European Commission President von der Leyen, her trip had been planned for a “long time” and that it was a traditional visit to make before presenting a report on the enlargement of the EU on November 8. Since June 2022, Ukraine has been a candidate country for EU membership.
“I’m here to discuss Ukraine’s accession path to the EU,” von der Leyen wrote on X, formerly Twitter, posting a picture of Zelensky greeting her on arrival at the Kyiv train station. She added that they would also discuss the EU’s “financial support to rebuild Ukraine as a modern, prosperous democracy”. Talks will also include “how we will continue to make Russia pay for its war of aggression”, von der Leyen added.
This was the second pool trip for the European Newsroom. This time, the poolers shared text, video and photo material. The shared information was disseminated through the respective wires of the participating agencies. The participating agencies were AFP, ANSA, Agerpres, APA, Belga, BTA, dpa, EFE, FENA, HINA, MIA, STA, Tanjug, AMNA and Lusa.
The joint Key Story about von der Leyen’s trip here.