The new president of the European Council, António Costa, has promised Ukraine rapid progress in the EU accession process.

Negotiations on at least two tracks will start already in the first half of 2025, Costa said during the visit of the new EU leadership to Kyiv.

“We will continue to be with you in the future, and these are not just words. We will continue to provide humanitarian, economic, military and energy assistance,” Costa said, DW reports.

An example of Ukraine's gradual political and economic integration into the EU, according to Costa, is the introduction of affordable roaming for Ukrainian users abroad.

The former head of the Portuguese government also promised to allocate 4.2 billion euros to support the Ukrainian budget by the end of the year. In addition, the EU will provide Kiev with 1.5 billion euros monthly from 2025. “We receive these funds from the use of frozen Russian assets, and they can also be used for military purposes,” Costa said.

The new European Council president also assured Ukrainians of Brussels' increased pressure on the Russian economy and continued work on the adoption of the 15th package of sanctions against Russia. The goal of further sanctions pressure on Moscow is to weaken Russia's ability to wage war against Ukraine, Kosta emphasized.