The European Union confirmed a landmark $54 billion aid package for Ukraine on February 1 in Brussels, after EU leaders were able to overcome opposition from Hungary. The agreement is a major breakthrough for Ukraine amid growing concerns over the future of Western backing for the war against Russia. It will provide vital long-term support
“We have a deal,” European Council President Charles Michel announced on Thursday. Then, to underscore the inclusivity of that first-person plural pronoun, he added that all twenty-seven European Union (EU) countries had agreed on a fifty-billion-euro aid package to Ukraine through 2027. The breakthrough follows weeks of resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. It
Last month, the European Council decided to open European Union (EU) accession negotiations with Ukraine and to grant candidate status to Georgia. Regardless of how long it will take each country to meet the requirements and join the EU, the twenty-seven-member bloc should expand its existing capacity-building projects and trade ties with both of them
Amid mounting concerns over the future of Western military aid for Ukraine, it is worth stressing that Ukrainians remain sincerely grateful for the international support their country has already received over the past two years. At the same time, it is also important to underline the contributions Ukraine itself has made, and continues to make,
In the first days of 2024, the Ukrainian authorities unveiled a vision for the future of the country’s State Customs Service as an emerging eastern customs border for the entire European Union. This ambitious goal aims to build on Ukraine’s traditional status as a gateway nation between the EU, Asia, and the Middle East. It
Amid mounting concern over the future of US military aid, European nations are increasing their support for Ukraine. With a major new American aid package currently stuck in Congress, there is an emerging consensus among European leaders that it is unwise to rely on the United States to defend them against Russia. Instead, they appear
Georgia sits outside the European Union (EU) despite Georgians overwhelmingly supporting a Euro-Atlantic future. In 2022, a poll by the International Republican Institute found that 85 percent of Georgians wanted their country to join the EU, while Georgia’s constitution codifies EU and NATO membership as national priorities. Georgian ambitions received a boost in December 2023,
Ukrainians spent much of the New Year holiday period in bomb shelters as Russia marked the festive season by unleashing some of the biggest air assaults of the entire war. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia launched at least 500 missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine during a five-day period from December 29,
The EU’s decision to open membership talks with Ukraine on December 14 was an historic win for Kyiv, but it was not the only piece of encouraging news received that day. A few hours before EU leaders agreed to launch accession negotiations, Ukraine was invited to join Europe’s leading electricity infrastructure association as a full
The European Council’s recent decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine was a momentous moment both for Kyiv and the European Union. Now the serious work begins. Ukraine’s EU story is a decade in the making. Ukraine’s European aspirations were a driving factor behind the 2013-14 Revolution of Dignity. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in
