France, Austria foreign ministers discuss need for strengthening European support for Ukraine

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg discussed the need to step up European support for Ukraine.

This is said in a statement released by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ukrinform reports.

“The ministers discussed the latest developments in the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and stressed the need to step up European support for that country, in every sphere. In this respect, France welcomed Austria’s contribution to the solidarity effort for Ukraine,” the statement says.

The ministers also talked about the need “to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy”, particularly in the areas of industry, trade and energy. They also shared their approaches on the best way of supporting the EU’s enlargement to include the Western Balkans countries.

As earlier reported, Austria did not support a full ban on issuing Schengen visas to Russians.

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