Kyiv and Brussels have agreed on a series of common goals in the fields of economy and politics, planned to be achieved by the end of the year. The focus is on grain exports, the return of children abducted by Russia, and Eurointegration. This decision was reached during an informal meeting with EU foreign ministers in Toledo.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmitry Kuleba, announced this on Instagram. According to him, the allies concentrated on Ukraine's issues.
"The format of informal communication among EU ministers allows us to prepare crucial decisions. Today in Toledo, the key attention is given to Ukraine and the autumn political season," the minister stated.
- Increasing the volume of Ukrainian grain exports by sea and land routes.
- Engaging more countries willing to support the Ukrainian formula for peace and advancing the Global Peace Summit.
- Intensifying efforts to bring back Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
- Expanding joint weapons production following the Defense Industry Forum in Ukraine.
- Increasing the quantity of ammunition within the framework of the EU initiative.
- Organizing humanitarian funding for the supply of Ukrainian grain to countries in Africa and Asia at the Grain from Ukraine summit.
- Initiating negotiations for Ukraine's EU membership by the end of 2023.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized that the work of the ministers was preparatory, and final agreements will be pursued by the leaders of the countries.
To ensure consistent support to Ukraine, the EU envisions the creation of a assistance fund for the country, with a volume of up to 5 billion euros annually for the period 2024-2027. This fund will be integrated into the European Peace Fund. According to Borrell, the agreement can be reached by the end of the year. He also mentioned that 25,000 Ukrainian military personnel have undergone training on European training grounds, and an additional 5,000 will complete their training by the end of October. Therefore, Borrell proposes to train an additional 10,000 soldiers in the coming months.