On 23 September, the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York hosted an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers chaired by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha.

The ministers focused on the situation in Ukraine, developments at the frontline, Russian shelling of energy infrastructure, and Ukraine's military and humanitarian needs.

The heads of diplomacy paid special attention to the negotiation process on Ukraine's accession to the EU, the expansion of the coalition in support for President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula and preparations for the second Peace Summit.

In his speech, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stressed the critical importance of today's moment for achieving victory and peace. He called for concrete, swift and decisive joint action.

«I urge you to treat Ukraine as a de facto member of the EU, which we will become de jure in the near future. We have now started accession negotiations and have the ambition to open as many clusters as possible in parallel ways, not one after the other. Ukraine is well aware of what the accession process is, how complex and detailed it is. We are ready for it, and we are ready to do our homework, everything in our power, to ensure that this accession process is based on merit and lasts exactly as long as it needs to, not as long as it used to be», - said Andrii Sybiha.

The Minister added that Ukraine intends to join 100% of all EU political statements.

«We also expect that Ukrainian ambassadors to the respective EU countries will be invited to regular meetings of ambassadors of EU member states, that they will become an integral part of these diplomatic communities», - emphasized Andrii Sybiha.

The Foreign Minister recalled that his first foreign visit as Foreign Minister was to Ukraine's closest western neighbours, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova.

«I plan to visit our other western neighbours in the near future. We want a predictable neighbourhood policy, in particular for the sake of the strategic goal of Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO. This is one of my key priorities in my work», - he added.

The Minister also reminded that a draft of the new 7-year EU budget for 2028-2034 should be presented by the end of 2025.

«We call on our European partners to make it a budget for a new and historic enlargement of the European Union that will bring peace to Europe. This budget should include Ukraine as an EU member state», - the Foreign Minister stressed.

Andrii Sybiha also informed his European colleagues about Russia's preparations for possible attacks on Ukraine's nuclear energy system and called for decisive action to prevent such a scenario. He also highlighted the steps needed to strengthen Ukraine's energy system and resilience ahead of the winter and received assurances from European partners that they were ready to provide additional support.