Ireland will use the EU presidency next year to “accelerate the enlargement agenda” of the bloc, Taoiseach Micheál Martin signalled as he welcomed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Dublin on Tuesday.
The Taoiseach reiterated Irish support for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, which Mr Zelenskiy said he hoped would happen in the next five years.
Mr Martin also signalled support for an EU plan to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for a multibillion-euro loan from Brussels to Kyiv to finance reconstruction and efforts to repel Russian aggression.
Mr Zelenskiy told the joint Houses of the Oireachtas during an address in the Dáil chamber that Ukraine was “closer to peace than ever before”, as high-stakes negotiations involving the Trump administration and the Kremlin continued this week.
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However, he signalled that peace should not come at any cost, indicating that security guarantees, territory and finance would be central to his country’s acceptance of any plan.
Mr Martin said that during its EU presidency, Ireland would endeavour “to accelerate the enlargement agenda, that is one of the objectives of the Irish presidency”.
Mr Zelenskiy appealed for support from the “community of nations”, including Ireland, which he said understands “the price of freedom ... better than many”.
“There is a real, real chance [of peace]. But we must seize this chance fully, the whole world, not just one powerful country,” he told TDs and Senators.
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The two countries signed a roadmap for bilateral relations which included another €125 million in funding.
In remarks to the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, a new co-operative body established this week, Tánaiste Simon Harris said it would be a tool for building economic and trade ties between the countries.
Mr Zelenskiy briefed the Taoiseach on the latest developments in peace talks, including information from a Ukrainian delegation that is holding talks with the US administration in Florida.
The Taoiseach said Ireland would be open to contributing to a peace monitoring mission in Ukraine, or peacekeepers, following any cessation of hostilities.
With EU leaders due to meet in Brussels later this month for talks on a deadlocked commission plan to use Russian assets to support loans to Ukraine, Mr Zelenskiy said it was “high time” to transfer them to Ukraine to bolster defence and the reconstruction of the country.
“We hope that Ireland ... together with all those who listen to Ireland in the world, will support the need to hold Russia accountable for its aggression,” he said. He also appealed for continued Irish support for a tribunal to punish Russia, and for “active support” in making such a tribunal a reality.
He asked that unity between nations supporting Ukraine continue, telling the joint session: “There is no good future for Europe without this unity”. He added that Ukraine wants to stand with countries whose history and values reflect its own.
“We want to stand alongside Ireland in the European Union as equals.”
Europe cannot run away from its own values. It must stand up for them, and Ukraine is doing exactly that today on Europe’s behalf.”
Mr Zelenskiy would not criticise cutbacks in support for Ukrainians in Ireland, instead focusing on support since the beginning of the war and expressing thanks for housing Ukrainian refugees here.
He met President Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin before going to Government buildings for talks with Mr Martin, alongside Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee, and on to Leinster House for his address.
Discussions between Ms Connolly and Mr Zelenskiy focused on securing enduring peace in Ukraine and Ireland’s role as a neutral country. They also discussed the Ukrainian community in Ireland, with Ms Connolly raising the enforced transfer of children from Ukraine and food security.
