The new president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the new head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, arrived in Kiev this Sunday, as a sign of support for Ukraine on the first day of their mandate. “We have come to give a clear message that we support Ukraine and continue to give it our full support,” Costa told media who accompanied the couple on the trip.
With them the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos. “From the first day of the war, the EU has stood by Ukraine. From the first day of our mandate, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people,” Costa said in a message on social networks upon his arrival in Kiev. in which he declared himself “proud” to stand with Kallas and Kos. Kallas also said he considered it a “privilege” to be in Kiev with Costa and Kos on his first visit to the Ukrainian capital as the new head of European diplomacy. “My message is clear: the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war. We will do everything necessary to achieve this,” the former Estonian prime minister said in another message on social networks. The message that the three bring to the authorities in Kiev is “strong: Ukraine, you can count on the firm and unwavering support of Europe on your path towards freedom, peace and a fully European future”, added Kos, for whom he It is an “honor” message to start his new mission in the Ukrainian capital.
The symbolic value of the visit
This highly symbolic visit takes place on the same day as Costa’s mandate as new president of the European Council officially begins and the second mandate of the new European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen also begins. “We all desire peace. Especially the tormented and heroic people of Ukraine. But peace cannot mean the peace of a cemetery. Peace cannot mean capitulation. Peace must not reward the aggressor. Peace in Ukraine must be fair, lasting and based on international law,” Costa said during the handover ceremony with his predecessor, Charles Michel, last Friday in Brussels.