Ukraine is striving to join the EU as soon as possible. But there is support in a slightly different form. In the future, Ukrainians should be able to exchange their light bulbs for energy-saving models - and millions of them.
In the Russian war of aggression, the European Union made 35 million energy-saving light bulbs available to Ukraine. Ukrainians could exchange their old lightbulbs for LED lamps "at the post office," wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter on the sidelines of a summit meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Every kilowatt of energy saved is valuable in countering Russia's energy war," she said.
The EU is "working tirelessly" to rebuild Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which was destroyed by Russia, von der Leyen continued. The Europeans had previously supplied the government in Kyiv with generators to protect against power outages, among other things.
Von der Leyen and 15 other commission members held talks with the Ukrainian government in Kyiv on Thursday. Among other things, von der Leyen announced a tenth package of sanctions against Russia on the anniversary of the Russian attack on February 24.
In addition to von der Leyen and Zelenskyj, EU Council President Charles Michel also took part in the summit. He pledged his support for Ukraine's desire to join the EU. "We will not let up in our determination. We will support you every step of the way on your way to the EU," Michel wrote on Twitter. Ukraine has officially been a candidate for EU membership since 2022 and is calling for rapid accession, if possible within the next two years. President Zelenskyy had said that his country "deserved" that negotiations on EU membership should start later this year.
