Dutch Foreign Minister Visits Lviv

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Kaspar Veldkamp, has arrived in Lviv.

According to "European Truth", the information was reported by the publication NOELreports on X.

The publication shared a photo of the minister laying flowers at the Mars Field.

"He paid tribute to the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders and plans to participate in a conference to discuss Ukraine's further European integration", the report states.

As per Dutch media reports, the Netherlands is assisting Ukraine in the EU accession process. A conference will be held in Lviv on Saturday, with Minister Kaspar Veldkamp also attending.

The lower house of parliament has appealed to the cabinet to assist the Ukrainian government in the challenging EU accession procedure. A candidate country must meet the so-called Copenhagen criteria to become an EU member.

Representatives from six Dutch ministries arrived in Lviv to discuss issues of rule of law, agriculture, energy, and social matters.

The conference in Lviv will take place annually, alternating between Ukraine and the Netherlands. Veldkamp will also speak in Lviv alongside the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna.

It is worth noting that the Cabinet has approved a plan for Ukraine to implement the recommendations of the European Commission outlined in the 2024 progress report for candidate countries.

Ukraine is looking forward to the opening of the first clusters in negotiations for EU accession. The European Commission has announced ambitious plans to open three negotiation clusters before the end of the Polish presidency in June 2025. However, this step is being blocked by Hungary, which is placing new demands regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority.