Kyiv is under siege and so is democracy - President Metsola to Ukraine Speaker 

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola (pictured) hosted a meeting with Speakers of the European Union’s National Parliaments and the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk.

During the meeting, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced that a structure that brings together the key European Parliament interlocutors with their counterparts from the Rada has been set up. This has been done to establish the priorities and needs of the Rada under the current circumstances and in the future.

From Marseille, where she addressed the meeting, President Metsola said that “support of the EU national parliaments is crucial to keep the EU unity and to enable the best possible assistance to Ukraine”.

Speaking on the importance of democracy, Metsola said that a major goal of the Russian invasion is to target and paralyze Ukraine’s democratic institutions. “Kyiv is under siege and so is democracy”, President Metsola said. “This is an attack not only on an independent and peaceful nation but also on liberal democracies, elected representatives and parliaments.”

Reiterating the European Parliament’s support for Ukraine, President Metsola said that whilst it is important to remain united: “The task ahead of us is also to help Ukraine to safeguard its democratic institutions that are facing an existential threat. We need to build up their resilience, cooperating notably in the areas of cyber security, strategic communication, and hybrid threats, including the fight against disinformation.”

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