EU Council President takes Ukraine message to capitals across Europe
Photo: António Costa (Getty Images)
European Council President António Costa will visit EU leaders in their capitals in the coming weeks. During the visits, he will have several priority tasks, one of which is support for Ukraine, according to the European Council website.
The announcement states that the annual Tour des Capitales will allow Costa to gather the views of heads of state and government, with a particular focus on the next long-term EU budget.
As was the case last year, the meetings will help pave the way for future European Council meetings and international summits.
"Defence, competitiveness, enlargement and support for Ukraine will feature in my discussions with European leaders during my upcoming Tour des Capitales. But the EU’s next long-term budget will certainly stand out," Costa said.
The visits will take place between August 25 and September 17. During the first week of his tour, Costa will meet with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal in Tallinn on August 25.
On August 26, Costa will visit Riga for a meeting with Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, and will also travel to Vilnius for a meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
On August 27, during the first week of his tour, he will meet with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in Prague.
Support for Ukraine
Today, August 24, Ukraine celebrated the 35th anniversary of its Independence Day. On this day, a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing took place in Kyiv, attended by all EU countries, NATO representatives, and others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated after the meeting that Ukraine had been supported with military and energy packages. According to him, the priority of continued support will be air defense.
