We are here today to discuss our further support to Ukraine. I am very happy to see Minister Kuleba among us. And I do hope that we will make progress on all the proposals the Commission has made. We made very clear proposals to not only continue supporting Ukraine, but also to chip in the reconstruction effort. We do hope that the Council will make progress.
We will also discuss Niger and the coup that has happened there. We, of course, are very much concerned about the situation and we want to listen to our African partners how they assess the situation.
Question: President Charles Michel suggested that enlargement of the European Union until 2030 and is this state realistic?
What I think is that if this is a message from the Council that the Council wants to finally engage and make a big leap to make enlargement happen, this is a welcome news.
Of course, the Commission has always been ready to make any proposal that would lead to us there. I don't think that it is a question of dates. I think it is more of a question of will, and also the question of delivery; delivery on the side of the EU but also delivery on the side of our partner countries in the Western Balkans or the other three candidate countries.
The Commission is ready to make any proposal to get there and you will see this coming already in October when we will want to put substantive proposals including the Growth Plan, which our President has already explained in Bratislava, that will accelerate not only the institutional but also the real integration. The real integration of the people and the economies into the European Union.
Question: Are you in contact with Mr Orbán? Do you understand his position on the sanctions?
I think you should ask him.
Question: Which countries could be first to join the European Union? In your opinion which are the closest?
I think those are the closest who deliver the first. So, I would encourage all of them to speed up their work. I think that they all have now everything and will have everything on the table from October to just to do that, so I do hope that it won't be just one interested in this European offer, but all of them.
Question: Commissioner you mentioned that the Council being potentially ready to take a giant leap. What would you need to see from the Council side for that date to become reality - that 2030 enlargement target date?
Press ahead with all the proposals that we're making and make each and every single decision that we can make: no matter how small, no matter how big. So, for example, taking decisions on the IGCs, taking decisions on the financing, taking decisions on the real integration into the European Union already before accession.
