00:00Good evening, welcome to the press conference following the European Council Summit.
00:29Bonsoir à chacune et à chacun, nous avons du coup d'oeuvre pour vous.
00:33Good evening to each and every one of you.
00:35We have finished a European summit.
00:38It was the opportunity to take decisions on difficult and important topics.
00:42It was a pleasure to have a meeting with President Zelensky.
00:47It was the occasion for President Zelensky to present his victory plan
00:51and the occasion for the leaders of the exchange of views with him.
00:55A few points are extremely important.
00:57No one is underestimating the momentum.
01:01The geopolitical context is extremely difficult on the one hand.
01:04There will be elections in the United States in a few weeks on the other hand.
01:08And that's why it's so important to send a very clear message of support for the people of Ukraine.
01:14They need more military support. This is urgent.
01:17They need more financial support and we intend to deliver on the promises we made
01:23in the framework of the G7 a few months ago.
01:27You know that we are working on this financial package, 50 billion dollars in total
01:34and we intend to deliver our share and we expect that the others will follow our example.
01:40With President Zelensky this morning, we also had the occasion to discuss the state of play
01:45within the international community.
01:47We support the efforts with the just peace formula
01:51and we understand how this is still very important to be in close contact
01:56with all the partners across the world, not only the like-minded partners,
02:00but to explain that if we want to defend international law and international humanitarian law,
02:06if we want to defend the UN Charter, we have to be consistent
02:09and to support Ukraine and to condemn this Russian invasion.
02:14This is the first point I wanted to mention Ukraine
02:17and you've seen that we have again clear conclusions on this important topic.
02:22The second topic I would like to mention is the Middle East.
02:26Once again, I want to repeat that we condemn this terrorist attack launched by Hamas
02:32the 7th of October last year.
02:34We want the release of all hostages and we also accept and recognize and affirm
02:43the right for Israel to exist and to defend itself in line and in accordance with international law.
02:50And you know that we want to do everything to stop this regional escalation
02:54and that's why we want ceasefires in Gaza, in Lebanon.
02:59We condemn the attacks against the UNIFIL in Lebanon.
03:04We ask the respect for the UN resolutions
03:08and it was again the occasion today to affirm our full support for the two-state solution
03:14because we think that the two-state solution will be the best security guarantee.
03:20We do not underestimate all the challenges, all the obstacles,
03:23but we think that we have a role to play together with our partners in the region and beyond
03:29to have more influence and to make sure that we can be a more influential actor
03:36in that region.
03:37The bilateral screening process is now ongoing
03:40and in parallel we have the Ukraine plan that includes crucial reforms for this accession path
03:49and it is supported by the 50 billion in the Ukraine plan
03:55that are delivered on the achievement on reforms.
04:02So it is a 50 billion investment over four years, 2024 to 2027
04:08and we see a lot of progress thanks to this progress.
04:11We have already dispersed over 12 billion euros
04:14and we expect another tranche to be dispersed before the end of the year.
04:19So there is good progress.
04:22We also discussed the situation in the Middle East.
04:25We are extremely concerned about the very dangerous situation in the region.
04:31We see the escalation in Lebanon.
04:34We saw Iran's ballistic strike on Israel.
04:37All this heightens the real risks of a wider regional war
04:42and we continued around the table to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
04:47and in Lebanon for the unconditional release of all hostages
04:52and for an end to the conflict.
04:54Likewise, there are urgent humanitarian needs in Lebanon to meet.
05:01Beginning of October I announced an additional 30 million euros.
05:05This comes on top of the 1 billion from the European Union
05:09in support for Lebanon from May of this year.
05:14Around the table we also discussed the conditions for a durable peace
05:18leading to a two-state solution
05:21and let me stress in particular one very important point.
05:26This lasting peace and a two-state solution can only be achieved
05:31with a stable, a strong and a reformed Palestinian Authority.
05:36As you know, the European Commission is working towards this goal.
05:40We have already a 400 million euro emergency support package
05:45that is in place since July.
05:48It supports at the moment being the payment of salaries
05:52or for example pensions or the provisions of basic services in the West Bank.
05:58But for us it's important that we cannot only disperse an outstanding amount
06:04of 110 million euros later this year
06:07but that we have a mid and long term support plan
06:12for the Palestinian Authority in place.
06:16This should keep the Palestinian Authority afloat until the end of the year
06:20and this is the first step in the right direction.
06:23But as I said we also work round the clock to have the second step
06:28which is a more comprehensive multi-year program
06:32to support the Palestinian Authority in their own fiscal, economic and governance reforms
06:38so that the budget is stabilized till 2026.
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