During a visit to Kiev on November 21, President of the European Council Charles Michel assessed that Ukraine continues to move closer to the European Union (EU) and described Kiev's progress as remarkable.
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| From left: President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Moldova Maia Sandu at a joint press conference in Kiev, Ukraine, on November 21. (Source: Imago) |
However, Mr Michel predicted a “difficult” meeting next month on the subject of launching formal accession negotiations with Ukraine.
The President of the European Council made the remarks at a joint press conference in the capital Kiev with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
For her part, Ms Sandu urged the EU to show “speed and unity” regarding Moldova and Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc.
“The urgency of this moment, marked by conflict and uncertainty, requires us to accelerate processes. Speed and unity are not just strategic options, but also a matter of survival and a return to European stability,” she said.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky affirmed that Kiev is implementing and will continue to implement all seven EU recommendations to launch the official accession negotiations in December.
At the same time, the leader said that the EU's decision next month would be a challenge to the bloc's unity.
In another development, on November 21, Slovakian authorities confirmed that a border crossing between the country and Ukraine had been blocked.
Slovak border guard Miloslav Tokar said truck drivers had blocked the only passage between the two countries for heavy vehicles and were allowing only a limited number of Ukrainian trucks to pass.
On the same day, the Slovak news agency ( TASR ) reported that a truck blocked the border crossing at Vysne Nemecke.
Earlier, Slovakian truck drivers expressed support for the demands of their Polish colleagues to limit the number of Ukrainian trucks entering the EU.
Last week, they staged a brief, symbolic blockade to make their point, but Slovakian truckers have said they will wait for negotiations before taking further steps.
In a related development, the Ukrainian customs service announced on its Telegram channel that “unidentified persons blocked the transportation of goods without giving any warning.”
According to the agency, Kiev has not received any official information from Slovakia.
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