The European Council failed to unanimously adopt a statement of support for Ukraine at its meeting on June 26. The document was signed by 26 of the 27 EU member states.
This is stated in a communiqué, the text of which was published on the website of the European Council.
The document called for an immediate ceasefire by Russia, the imposition of new sanctions against the Russian Federation and its shadow fleet, and support for Ukraineʼs progress on its path to the European Union.
The EU countries also highly appreciated the pace of reforms related to the accession process and welcomed the "significant progress". The countries agreed to take note of the European Commissionʼs assessment that Ukraine is ready to open the "Fundamentals of the EU Accession Process" cluster.
However, the formal opening of negotiations under the cluster requires unanimous consent from all 27 EU members, which is currently lacking. Therefore, the European Council plans to return to discussing this issue at the next summit.
The European Council also condemned the recent Russian attacks, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the start of a constructive dialogue. Leaders stressed the importance of humanitarian efforts: the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilians and the return of all Ukrainians, including children, illegally deported to Russia and Belarus.
The communiqué also called for intensified efforts to meet Ukraineʼs urgent military and defense needs.
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