On October 12, 2023, the 1st German-Ukrainian Expert Debate was held in Berlin. This is an updated meeting format that follows German Breakfast Debates in Kyiv starting from 2020 and Ukrainian Breakfest Debates in Berlin starting from 2017.

Alyona Getmanchuk, Director of the New Europe Center, took part in the event: “Germany is a unique partner which is able to contribute both to the victory of Ukraine by its financial and military support and to the development of Ukraine through the EU accession process and its active participation in renovation process. But the priority today should be the first one”.

Alyona Getmanchuk also emphasized that the military aid package from Germany announced this week should not be a substitute for the decision to provide Ukraine with long-range TAURUS systems – the unblocking of this issue by Chancellor Scholtz is still critically important.

The speaker also focused on the importance for bilateral relations of changing Berlin’s approach to Ukraine’s membership in NATO – an issue that remains almost the biggest “roadblock” in the dialogue between the two countries since 2008. “Despite the disappointment of the Vilnius NATO Summit, Ukraine is already preparing for the Washington Summit – the question of future accession to the Alliance is not removed from the agenda. Therefore, the sooner we will start a serious discussion about why joining NATO is not only in the interests of Ukraine but also for the USA, Europe and Germany in particular, the better it will be for everyone,” – noted Alyona Getmanchuk.

Organizer – Institute for European Politics, Berlin.

The New Europe Center – partner of the event.