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Ukraine has become an associate partner of the Three Seas Initiative. As the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, stated, together with Ukraine, Moldova joined the Initiative as an associate partner and Greece as a full partner. These are initiatives in the field of infrastructure that have already been implemented or are being planned. The Polish leader emphasized the war in Ukraine and the need to export Ukrainian agricultural products, showing how essential infrastructure projects are in Central Europe. Duda reported that the countries of the Initiative spent more than €80B on infrastructure projects in 2018-2021, and together with research and development projects, this amount amounted to €117B. As the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyridenko, emphasized, the countries participating in this initiative develop transport capabilities to facilitate exports from Ukraine. To that end, despite the war and regular shelling, trade in the Danube and routes to the ports of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Greece are developing rapidly.
Zelensky holds phone call with Netanyahu on visa-free travel. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a phone call on Sept. 7, Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel. One issue Zelensky raised with Netanyahu was the "increasing the number of refusals for Ukrainian citizens to enter Israel."
A Belgian bank received more than €1.7B in profit from Russian frozen assets, and Estonia plans to be the first in the EU to confiscate such assets.As reported by Euroclear, the €1.74B in profit was from the first half of 2023. The Belgian bank's management believes "It is necessary to separate estimated sanctions-related earnings from underlying financial results when evaluating the company's operations and resources." Meanwhile, Estonia wants to legalize confiscating Kremlin-related assets for Ukraine's reconstruction this year. As noted by the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Margus Tsahkna, the government will approve the draft law in two weeks before submitting it to the parliament. It is assumed that the international register of losses of Ukraine will be used as a basis for the takeover of sanctioned assets.
Ursula von der Leyen: The future of Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkan countries is in the EU. The head of the European Commission called on the EU to formulate a concept for the successful expansion of the block. Von der Leyen also stated the importance of reforming the EU as an institution by amending the EU Treaty and the European Convention, if necessary. However, she added, there is no need to wait for changes to the treaty to expand the EU. The head of the EC expressed the opinion that the EU may not have 27 but more than 30 states. She added that Ukraine, the Western Balkans, and Moldova should be admitted to the union in the future. Von der Leyen also noted "the importance of the prospect of joining the EU for many Georgians." The commission will begin work on a policy review to understand what each area may need to adapt to the larger union, she said.
Agriculture will become a cornerstone of Ukraine's path to the EU. With the approach of Ukraine's accession to the EU, the number of economic disputes will increase, and they will often revolve around agriculture, according to the Minister of Agricultural Policy, Mykola Solskyi. The minister emphasized that this year, Ukraine received a list of legislative norms from the EU that need to be prepared and changed, and 40% are related to agriculture and food products. According to Solskyi, Ukraine had to defend its economic position in
16 UKRAINE Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com