“The EU should invest in aid to Ukraine to guarantee its own security”, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze stated this during her address at the COSAC conference. COSAC is the Conference of Committees on European Affairs of the Member States of the European Union and on European Integration of Partner Countries and Candidate Countries for EU Accession. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked the EU member states for the decision to open negotiations with Ukraine on joining the European Union. According to her, this decision will help Ukraine to continue the important democratic transformations that have been carried out for almost ten years. She also emphasised that the decision to open negotiations is critical not only for Ukraine and other candidate countries, but also for the European Union itself: “Not only candidate countries, EU member states, but the whole world received a clear signal that the European Union will play an increasingly stronger and more important role as an influential international player.”

The Chair of the Committee stressed that enlargement is the future of the European Union. It evolves from a purely economic community to a community that unites states based on values, freedom and security. She also noted that the enlargement of the European Union involves many changes — budgetary, procedural, changes in policy and decision-making approaches. “We hope that all these changes will be implemented on a flexible and transparent basis,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. She emphasised that not only the candidate countries should integrate into the EU, but the EU should also update its format. “We welcome calls for reforms within the EU. They should take place in parallel with the reforms in the integrating countries,” said the Chair of the Committee. She also stated that reforms in the EU should not limit or become an obstacle to the accession of new members. It is important to ensure that during the accession of new members, the principle of unanimity in the EU is not misused.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze is convinced that the security component is key for the future of the EU. According to her, security is the basis for the development of all other areas: “If we do not focus on security, it will be very difficult to achieve all other goals. Therefore, looking to the future, I hope that we will all work to ensure that the enlarged EU is above all safe. Including through the support of Ukraine.” According to the Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, the current threats from Russia to the EU are greater than ever. The Baltic countries, Sweden, and Finland are already talking about the possibility of an attack by the Russian Federation. Moreover, according to Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the threat of the Third World War today is higher than ever. “The world is entering an era of high turbulence, the era of the Third World War. And this war with hybrid instruments is already being waged all over the world,” she said. The support of Ukraine from the European Union is crucial not only for Ukrainians but also for the security of the whole of Europe: “The EU must stop the war on the continent and invest in Ukraine’s and its own security. This is important not only for Ukrainian people, but also for the entire continent.”

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that the current expansion of the EU will be non-standard. “The European Union is opening up a new world through this expansion. Let's use this opportunity to create a large space of democracy, freedom, prosperity and unity for future generations,” concluded the Chair of the Committee.