The granting of candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday evening was welcomed by leaders. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger noted that Ukraine's success should also be considered a diplomatic success for Slovakia. The prime minister described the united position of the EU leaders on this issue as an extraordinary event: „Ukraine is our immediate neighbour. It is important that every neighbouring state is prosperous and stable. This will help Ukraine to join the EU. For Slovakia, this means increased security and prosperity. Today, several months later, we can say that, miraculously, Ukraine has been granted this status. Volodomyr Zelensky joined during the meeting and thanked all countries. We will help them to win and to protect their entire territory and we will also help with developing their country, with humanitarian and military aid.”
He pointed to the fact that at the informal EU summit in Versailles in March, Slovakia was the first country to present an elaborate proposal on how to help Ukraine in terms of reforms and finances for reconstruction, and which demanded that the country should be granted candidate status. At that time, several EU countries rejected this option. The prime minister noted in this vein that this is why he is trying to mobilise the domestic business sector so that the country can use its potential for the benefit of Ukraine and also for the development of Slovakia. President Zuzana Čaputová also commented on this decision on social media. "I applaud the European Council for granting candidate status to Ukraine & Moldova & giving the European perspective to Georgia. It’s a result of joint efforts & a historic moment of EU unity & resolve. Congrats to the people of Ukraine, Moldova & Georgia: our common future lies in the EU." the President added.
SOURCE: TASR
