1.    Chair, we commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Holodomor, a brutal man-made famine inflicted by heinous Stalinist policies that claimed millions of lives. This man-made famine is one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, a century marked by extraordinary cruelty and suffering. We honour the memory of the victims of the 1932 - 1933 famine, as well as the survivors, and their families.
2.    91 years later, it is crucial that the memory of this atrocity endures as a solemn warning. The EU strongly opposes the weaponisation of food, which undermines global food security, affecting vulnerable people and regions most in need. In this regard, we welcome the upcoming “Grain from Ukraine” summit  to be held in Kyiv on 23 November.
3.    At the same time, we reiterate our commitment to promoting awareness of the tragic events of our shared history. Accountability, strengthening the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is essential to preventing future human tragedies.

The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, SERBIA*, ALBANIA*, UKRAINE, the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA*, and GEORGIA, the EFTA countries ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN and NORWAY, members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA align themselves with this statement. 
* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.