Costa says he is optimistic and hopes European leaders will not “disappoint” Ukraine’s expectations

This Thursday, the Portuguese Prime Minister was optimistic about decisions to move forward with formal accession negotiations and financial support for Ukraine, hoping that the decisive European Council, now starting in Brussels, “will not disappoint” Kyiv’s expectations.

“My optimism prompted me to bring clothes for four days, and so I hope to leave here with two positive decisions and with the fact that I will not run out of shirts,” the head of government said, speaking at the entrance to the building. European summit in Brussels.

“I hope that this European Council will allow, firstly, to have a strong political position that does not undermine the expectation that the European Union [UE] over the past year I have been writing about the European prospects for Ukraine,” emphasized António Costa.

The outgoing prime minister believes that “this will certainly be a long and difficult council, with many controversial issues on the table,” namely Hungarian opposition to progress in negotiations with Kiev to join the European political-economic bloc.

“You will remember that I emphasized from the very beginning that we should not create excessive expectations that could lead to disappointment. Expectations have been created, so we cannot allow any disappointment,” he said.

Ukraine, which has been trying to repel an invasion by the Russian Federation for almost two years, needs predictability not only on the European path, but also economic, financial and military support so that the gains made on the battlefield do not fall apart. , defended Antonio Costa.

This Thursday, European leaders begin a summit in Brussels to discuss €50 billion in financial support for Ukraine and the start of formal accession negotiations for Ukraine. This meeting was marked by the threat of a Hungarian veto.

Although, regarding the issues on the table, some kind of “Plan B” could be considered – for example, strengthening the macro-financial program instead of the financial reserve or postponing until the beginning of the year the decision to open formal negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. EU, given the deadline set by the European Commission in March, several European sources consulted by Lusa were unanimous that this “European Council begins with the spirit of moving forward with ‘Plan A’.”

This meeting of the heads of state and government of the 27 EU members is considered crucial as it will last at least until Friday and could be extended due to the position taken by Hungary and after months of Budapest’s objections to the European Union’s suspension. for violating the rule of law, which led to two blockages at recent European summits on conclusions related to migration.

Threats from Hungary have intensified in recent weeks in letters sent by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to European Council President Charles Michel demanding a “strategic discussion” on Ukraine. This request is based on skepticism towards Hungarian minorities on Ukrainian territory. and the existing corruption in the country, but above all an issue not related to Kiev, which is connected specifically with public funds suspended from Budapest.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the European Commission announced that after improving the judicial system it had released the amount of 10.2 billion euros it had blocked from Hungary due to disrespect for the rule of law, although it left 21 billion euros suspended.