“With war back in Europe, we have taken unprecedented action, projecting the EU’s geopolitical clout. We now need to take further steps to strengthen our continent’s security and stability. This will be the main focus of our European Council meeting on 23-24 June”, European Council President Charles Michel said in his invitation letter to the 27 heads of state and government who will be meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. “Now is the time to acknowledge that the future of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia lies within the EU”. In this sense, President Michel will invite EU leaders to “grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. In parallel, we will continue to provide Ukraine with strong humanitarian, military, economic and financial support”. “The Western Balkans – he added – are important to the EU, and the EU is important to the Western Balkans. We must therefore re-energise the enlargement process and advance the integration of our Western Balkan partners. We will meet them before our formal European Council”. And he went on to say: “Peace, security and prosperity in a rules-based international order are values the EU shares with other European partners. The idea of a European political community has been presented to foster political dialogue and cooperation. We will engage in a strategic discussion on how to reinforce our relations to address issues of common interest”.