“Slava Ukraine!”greeted Volodimir Zelensky. “Slava Ukraini!” The European Parliament responded in one voice, in Brussels. “Glory to Ukraine”… and, as could be understood during his speech before the European Parliament, “with it, glory to Europe”. The Ukrainian president, at the lectern, held back tears. Black sweatshirt, military pants, and excited smile.
The European Parliament met in an exceptional plenary session to receive the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, in Brussels. The packed chamber received him this Thursday with applause, cheers, flags of his country and banners of support. As if he were a rock star. And in the same way, the MEPs have punctuated his brief speech – barely 20 minutes – with applause. Each paragraph included the words “Europe”, “values”, “victory”and “European way of life”. Each paragraph was applauded wildly.
“This is what we’re going to do, fight anti-european forces. Russia wants to steal our Europe from us, in Russia the norm is the supremacy of violence. And only our victory can guarantee European values. The victory of Ukraine has to be, yes or yes“.
This is the summary, in a single paragraph, of Zelenski’s intervention before a dedicated Eurochamber. The president has warned against “a dictator who wants to destroy us first and the Twenty-seven later”.
Before, Roberta Metsola had briefly introduced the Ukrainian leader. The president of the European Parliament has stepped on the accelerator of the EU institutions, explicitly being in favor of the “delivery of combat planes and long-range missiles” to Kiev to “defend Europe”.
“We understand that you fight for your values, which are ours, the ideals that unite us as brothers and inspire all Europeans. Ukraine is Europe and the future of your nation is within the European Union“.
pioneer support
The Kremlin, he has argued, “deliberately removes the European value from human life. In Russia, human life is worth no more than to serve the interests of the dictator. Millions of Russians are just bodies that can bear arms to take to the battlefield and be used in the service of the destruction of Europe.”
“I appreciate the unity that you have been showing for almost a year now. That you have not succumbed to Russian misinformation. That they continue to support us unequivocally,” the Ukrainian leader continued to applause.
“I remember the first day of the invasion,” which will soon be one year old. “When Russia wanted to break all this, it wanted put an end to the European way of life, that of freedoms and diversity. So, the firm conviction of this House representing hundreds of millions of Europeans that this aggression had to be in the past was already seen.”
Zelensky has also remarked that the European Parliament was the first institution to show its commitment to kyiv. “On the sixth day, the European Parliament approved a resolution of support. On the sixth day! Then came the push for our status as a candidate country for the EU. And all that It has motivated us to stay strong, to keep going and to fight“.
The structure of Zelenski’s entire speech before the European Parliament was based not on asking for support -economic, military…- nor on thanking him, but on explaining to himself the reason for this support. And that in addition was, in reality, all of Europe: “Because this is our way homethat of Ukrainians that we have freedom, peace and security, diversity, as our values and principles”.
Before displaying an EU flag next to Metsola, and the interpretation of the Ukrainian anthem and that of the European Union, with the entire chamber standing, Zelensky closed his speech:
“I want to thank you, representatives and leaders of the European Union, who are defending these values with us. This is important for Ukraine, it is important for Europe., and it is important so that disrespect and invasion do not triumph, so that our faith and our integrity win. For our children and grandchildren. And the precondition for this is always peace and security.”
“Welcome home”
The EU is committed to the “peace, reconstruction and integration” of Ukraine as a member of the club. That’s how he expressed it Charles-Michelan hour later, to Volodímir Zelenski in his welcome speech before the plenary session of Heads of State and Government.
For the first time present in person, the Ukrainian president picked up the baton from the President of the Council: “welcome to the euwelcome home”, said the Belgian. “We are closer”, replied the Ukrainian. “Closer to a free and united Europe”.
Zelensky spoke to the leaders in their natural language, recalling the “subversive” actions of Russia against your country, against Moldova “and against our system of values, against the freedom and unity of Europe”.
The Ukrainian leader thanked the Twenty-seven for their “military and financial” support to sustain “the social stability” of his country “even in these terrible times.” But he reminded them that, in reality, what they are defending is the EU itself, themselves, and the peoples of Europe.
That is why he asked them to face “fast and reliable decisions.” and them spike where it is up to every politician, in how they will go down in history. “Schuman and Monetthey understood that Europe should be the continent of freedom and unity after World War II”, he pointed out. “Believe me when I tell you that if together we can guarantee security back, their names will go down in history as those of those ‘fathers’ of the EU“.
For Zelenski, “freedom is the fundamental path to security.” For this reason, he thanked the Council that his country is receiving “consistent support for the first time in history.” Although to demonstrate that this commitment is real and in search of the “common European destiny”, claimed to “do more and faster” so that “Russian aggression fails as soon as possible.”
For this reason, finally and after thanking the European leaders who have understood up to now how much we need their ammunition and their tanks,” he recalled his current petition: “Long Range Missiles and Fighter Planes” to “mobilize faster the potential of freedom and justice of you and ours, for which our brave Ukrainian soldiers are fighting.”
Filed under , European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky
