Ukraine remains a priority of the Belgian Parliament

During the COSAC Conference in the Belgian city of Namur, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, together with the Chargé d'affaires of Ukraine in Belgium and Luxembourg Natalia Anoshina, met with the President of the Belgian House of Representatives Éliane Tillieux and the Belgian Senator and Co-Chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on European Affairs Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked Belgium for its support, for voting on the opening of negotiations with Ukraine on its EU membership and for the adoption of an important resolution recognising the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. The Chair of the Committee also welcomed the crucial decision of Belgium to join the coalition to provide Ukraine with F-16 aircraft. Belgium is also going to train Ukrainian pilots. The Chair of the Committee emphasised that the provision of these aircraft to Ukraine should be accelerated as much as possible. “We also need many other weapons to protect our people, our cities and infrastructure. And we hope for Belgium's help in providing these weapons,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. She also called for support in demining the liberated territories of Ukraine. The Chair of the Committee hopes that Belgium, as the country that presides in the EU for the next six months, will support the adoption of the decision to launch the Ukraine Facility — a new financial mechanism to help Ukraine, which provides for the allocation of up to 50 billion euros over the next four years for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked Belgian officials for the agreement to include Russian diamonds in the EU sanctions list, even though this industry is extremely large and influential in Belgium. At the same time, she emphasised the need to work on other sanctions against the Russian Federation. “We do not withdraw from the agenda the disconnection of all Russian banks from SWIFT. It is necessary to introduce additional sanctions against Russian liquefied gas and  Russian nuclear energy, as well as to control trade in dual-purpose goods and trade from the Russian Federation through third countries,” stressed the Chair of the Committee.

Belgian officials assured that they support the European integration of Ukraine. Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven reported that three resolutions in support of Ukraine had been adopted in the Senate. Éliane Tillieux noted that many resolutions in support of Ukraine had been also adopted at the level of the lower house of the Belgian Parliament and that, even though many say that attention to Ukraine is decreasing, Ukraine remains a priority of the Parliament.