Page 17 - UKRRptFeb24

European Council President Charles Michel, who presides over EU summits, leaves his post in July, as he previously announced. In that case, EU leaders must quickly agree on a successor. However, If EU leaders fail to quickly agree on Michel's successor, the presidency of the European Council will temporarily go to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The presidency of the Council of the EU is rotated from one EU member to another for six months. In June, the European Parliament passed a resolution expressing "serious concern" about events in Hungary considering its upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union.
UK oil refinery extends credit with oil company linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch. One of the United Kingdom's largest oil companies has extended a loan facility to the arm of an oil company founded and part-owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, the Guardian reported on Jan. 2.
Zelensky meets Japanese Foreign Minister: 'Japan is important and strong partner for us'. President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa for her country’s support for Ukraine, voicing hopes for further relations in 2024 during their meeting in Kyiv on Jan. 7. Japan pledges $37 million for anti-drone equipment for Ukraine. Japan promised to provide $37 million to a NATO fund for anti-drone equipment, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said at a press conference in Kyiv with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Jan. 7.
Secret peace talks involving Ukraine, G7, neutral countries failed to produce results. The talks failed to produce meaningful results, but are representative of the efforts by Ukraine and its allies to draw countries outside of the West into backing Ukraine's peace formula.
Slovak PM decries Western strategy on Ukraine, says Russia 'also needs security guarantees'. In his column, the prime minister claimed that the Western strategy has "failed," saying it did not succeed in collapsing the Russian economy and Moscow continues to control parts of Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine visited the Baltic countries on January 10 and asked for air defence systems, and Lithuania has launched joint weapon production with Ukraine. Ukraine will cooperate with NT Service, Brolis Semiconductors, RSI Europe, and DMEXS. These companies specialize in the production of sights, including thermal imaging, modern systems for remote detonation initiation, EW devices, communication, etc.
Support grows for petition to revoke Hungary's voting rights at European Parliament. Petri Sarvamaa, a senior member of the EU's parliament, initially launched the petition on Jan. 9, which seeks to revoke some of Hungary's membership rights, including voting, due to the country's "erosion of the rule of law" and obstructive behavior in the face of EU consensus building.
The EC is preparing a draft negotiation framework for Ukraine's accession. The European Commission has started work on the negotiating framework for Ukraine - a document that defines the principles and procedures for conducting negotiations on EU accession, said the EC spokesperson, Ana Pisonero. She also noted that the EC is evaluating the latest measures approved by the Ukrainian Parliament before giving the final green light to begin accession negotiations. The EC also clarified the details of how an essential stage before the talks will begin - the screening process, which
17 UKRAINE Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com