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the EU until Hungarian requirements regarding the language of education are met. "We will block it until the problem is solved," said Orbán, answering whether Hungary will block the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
Borrell admits conflict in Israel affecting policy towards Ukraine. In a speech delivered at the 2023 EU Ambassadors' Conference, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, admitted that the conflict in the Middle East is affecting aid policies towards Ukraine.
"Both wars are different, completely different, in their causes and consequences," Borrell notes. "But let’s be frank: the crisis in the Middle East is already having a lasting impact on our policy in Ukraine." He described his recent visit to Washington for the EU-US Summit in which he conveyed his concerns to American colleagues about the conflict in Israel potentially impacting international support for Ukraine on account of perceived "double standards." Borrell specifically expressed fears about "countries in the Global South" taking advantage of the crisis in the Middle East to question Western positioning towards Ukraine.
"A large number of countries in the Global South see in Ukraine not a global issue, but a regional problem , which affects Europe and the United States - the Western world..And they will take advantage of the crisis to underscore what they see as a contradiction in our positioning or even a contradiction among Europeans, as expressed during the last United Nations [General Assembly] resolution vote." Finally, Borrell urged European countries to reject the framing of the "West against the rest." "We are not the outpost of the Western world," Borrell stated. "We are the keepers of global and shared values based on the United Nations Charter...We are the keepers of global and shared values based on the United Nations Charter...This is our message. It is not the West against the rest. It is the values of the United Nations Charter as the best ground of multilateralism."
In Kyiv on November 5, the President of the European Commission discussed EU expansion, support for Ukraine, and Russian sanctions. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Ukraine. After talks with him, von der Leyen noted that Ukraine has made significant progress on its way to EU membership, and next week, the European Commission will present a report on enlargement. The head of the EC noted Ukraine's achievements on the path to economic modernization and reconstruction, emphasizing that the EC is working on allocating €50B to Ukraine by 2027. "We are also developing a plan to modernize, reform, and invest in Ukraine. It is the key to accessing €50B. Significant progress has been made, and we are ready to move to the finish line in the next few weeks," she added. The President of the European Commission noted that the sanctions pressure on Russia will increase, and the 12th sanctions package will be adopted soon.
The EC names three EU goals for effective support of Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "While the war drags on, and while we continue to meet the daily needs of Ukrainians, we must focus on the way forward and support Ukraine as long as it takes." She presented three goals the EU should pursue in this context: "First, our goal should remain a just and lasting peace, not another frozen conflict. No one wants peace more than Ukrainians," the EC President emphasized. According to her, the primary
22 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com