New Europe Center (NEC) has concluded another advocacy visit to European capitals — Brussels and Paris. The main objectives of the trip were to strengthen cooperation in joint defense production, security guarantees, the creation of an integrated air defense system (sky shield), as well as to advance decisions on the Russian immobilized assets and deplete the aggressor of financial means to continue the war.

During the first two days, the NEC was working in Brussels, where it held a series of meetings with Members of the European Parliament, members of relevant committees, representatives of the Council of the EU, NATO, the European Commission, political parties, and think tanks. In addition, the team organized a public event at the European Parliament.

The following three days were dedicated to meetings in Paris, including discussions with members of the French Parliament, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance, and other government institutions.

A particular highlight of the visit was the IV Ukraine–France Forum, organized by the New Europe Center in cooperation with the leading French think tank Ifri. Held on 25 September, the Forum served as a platform for an in-depth discussion of key issues of bilateral cooperation in the fields of security, defense, economy, and strategic partnership between Ukraine and France.

“We have a strong feeling that the giant (EU) woke up and takes the right steps. One should expect soon decisive actions on the use of ru frozen assets and defence production next year that we haven’t seen before”, summarized Leonid Litra, Senior Research Fellow at the New Europe Center.

The advocacy visit was carried out by the New Europe Center in partnership with ICUV (International Center for Ukrainian Victory) with the support of the “Renaissance” International Foundation.