Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the importance of implementing reforms in Ukraine.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano on Monday, she pointed out that the EC wants to rebuild Ukraine “not just as it was but as its young people want it to be,” the Commission noted in a statement.
“We know Ukraine’s immense potential for positive change… we know it because we have seen it affirmed time and again, since the Maidan revolution eight years ago,” she stressed.
Von der Leyen noted that Ukraine has adopted regulations aimed at reining in oligarchs’ power, reformed and decentralized administration, and implemented digitalization, which made the country stronger.
She pointed out that the cost of rebuilding Ukraine rises each day, stressing that the war is senseless and incurs severe economic and social costs.
Ukraine will have to attract foreign investments, improve the standard of living and implement reforms to align its rules with those of the EU, von der Leyen noted.
She observed that the challenges are significant but not insurmountable, stressing that Ukraine can emerge from the war “greener, more digital and more resilient.”
Von der Leyen expressed the belief that helping to rebuild Ukraine “is not only in our interest – it is also in our interest – but it is also our moral duty, our moral obligation.”
Importance of centralized control
She noted that the EC proposed Ukraine centrally control and plan to rebuild efforts as well as “to shape strategic orientations and priorities for our common work to focus on future-proof reconstruction moving towards climate neutrality, embracing the digital decade, building a social market economy that leaves no one behind” and more.
According to von der Leyen, the EU has a strategic interest and a responsibility to support Ukraine in its rebuilding efforts.
She reminded us that the country wants to join the bloc and added that the EC will do its best to support Ukraine on its EU path.
Von der Leyen expressed the belief that Russia’s goal “is the military, political and economic destruction of Ukraine… they want to undermine Ukraine’s very existence as a state,” and concluded that we must prevent this.
