The Nordic countries intend to create a group to support rapprochement between Ukraine and the EU.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström announced the creation of a high-level group of experts from the Nordic and Baltic countries NB8 (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) to support Ukraine’s rapprochement with the European Union. She will provide expert assistance to the Ukrainian government during the EU accession process, the government office reports.

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“We are proud that we will be able to jointly offer the most experienced experts that our countries have. They will play a decisive role in supporting Ukraine in the process of accession to the EU. We need to come together and do everything in our power to ensure peace, security and European unity. This initiative, chaired by Sweden in the NB8 group, offers a real opportunity to ease Ukraine’s path to membership in the European family,” Billström is quoted as saying in a Foreign Ministry press release.

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At a press conference after a meeting of representatives of the NB8 countries on the island of Gotland, Billström also said that the Nordic and Baltic countries support a stronger role for NATO in assisting Ukraine.