RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "2025 UKRAINE RECOVERY CONFERENCE" HANDOUT - EDITORIAL USE ONLY - SHOTLIST: ROME, ITALY (JULY 10, 2025) (2025 UKRAINE RECOVERY CONFERENCE - RESTRICTED) 1. GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ WALKING TO PODIUM AS ATTENDEES APPLAUD 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ SAYING: "History knows many different examples of post-war reconstruction. One of the most successful was the recovery of Western Europe, and particularly of my country, Germany, after World War II. People still remember the so-called "Wirtschaftswunder", the miracle of our economy. I don't mean to draw any misleading historical comparisons, but some of the recipes that were applied back then can still serve us when we focus on Ukraine's recovery today. The first one is, to rebuild a war-torn economy, it takes strong partners and international support. And Ukraine has strong international partners, all of us gathered here today. Today Ukraine has dozens of partners around the entire world – the European Union, the G7, the IMF, and of course all of us that have come together today for the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. Since last year's conference in Berlin, we have made some remarkable progress. 200,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises have been supported through the SME Alliance. 275,000 Ukrainians have received training as reconstruction professionals since the establishment of the Skills Alliance.400 new partnerships with Ukrainian municipalities have been established, which is extremely important because reconstruction takes place at local level. In more than 80 companies, donor governments and civil society organizations have joined forces to empower women in their role in reconstruction. Now Germany is the largest donor to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund and will continue to support the stabilization and reconstruction of Ukraine's energy system. Together with international partners, we are developing the Ukrainian Business Development Fund, modeled on Germany's so-called KFW, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, which financed Germany's reconstruction after World War II. Volodymyr, you mentioned the Marshall Fund already. When you visited me in Berlin in May a couple of weeks ago, we agreed to take the defense industrial cooperation between our two countries to a higher level. These measures underline our confidence in Ukraine's future.And here is a second lever able to turn Ukraine's reconstruction into the economic miracle we all hope to see. That lever is Ukraine's successful European integration. To be very clear on this, we fully support Ukraine on its path to EU membership. This includes, and you know that Volodymyr, reforms like strengthening the rule of law or fighting corruption. And we are encouraging our Ukrainian friends to keep advancing along this path, which is the path leading to freedom and prosperity within the European Union. Let me, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, mention a third quintessential lever for economic recovery. Economic growth requires freedom for the private sector to flourish. This is particularly important in the case of Ukraine, because the enormous cost of reconstruction cannot be financed through public funds alone. This is why you, Volodymyr and I, when we met in Berlin a few weeks ago, met German companies, which are active in Ukraine. What I can report back from that meeting is the enormous interest of private businesses in participating in Ukraine's reconstruction. With the Business Advisory Council initiated last year in Berlin, we have an excellent tour to engaging the private sector in the reconstruction efforts. And I'd like to thank Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy, for his commitment to the Council's establishment. And I look forward to its work under the new leadership of Barbara [...] doing this work in this Council. Many thanks for your commitment. Now today, I'm pleased that, and that was already mentioned by you, [...], we can announce the launch of the European flagship fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine together with the European Union, together with the EU Commission, the European Investment Bank, with Italy, Poland and France. And I, myself and the German government, we fully support its goal to mobilize large volumes of private investment for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Ladies and gentlemen, of course, of course, the ultimate prerequisite for Ukraine's lasting recovery is simply peace. Ukraine is committed to achieving a just peace. But while Ukraine has agreed to an immediate ceasefire without any preconditions, Russia keeps sending daily proof that it wants to continue or even intensify its brutal war of aggression. Thousands of drones and missiles destroying civilian infrastructure, killing and terrorizing Ukrainian men, women and children. This has to end. It therefore remains our political duty to increase pressure on Russia in order to change President Putin's calculus and bring him to the negotiating table. And may I be frank from this place as well? We are preparing package number 18 within the European Union of sanctions against Russia. There is only one member state missing to agree on that. I urgently ask Slovakia and its Prime Minister to give up the resistance and make the way free for package number 18 within the European Union. So let me end by reassuring you, Volodymyr again and our Ukrainian friends, that our support for your country is unwavering. Thanks to the Italian government and to you, Georgia, for hosting this important conference. Thanks to all of you for standing with Ukraine and finalizing I have two messages. The one goes to Moscow and to President Putin. The message is quite simple. We will not give up. And dear friends, my second message goes to Washington, D.C. and to President Donald Trump. Stay with us. And stay with the Europeans. We are on the same page. And we are looking for a stable political order in this world. We are both the Americans and the Europeans, [...]. Stay with us on this side and on this page of our common history. Many thanks, dear colleagues and friends." 3. VARIOUS OF ATTENDEES APPLAUDING GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZROME, ITALY - JULY 10, 2025: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday urged Slovakia to drop its veto on the European Union's new sanctions package against Russia. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, Merz emphasized that all countries should increase pressure on Moscow to compel Russian leadership to return to the negotiating table and end the war in Ukraine. “We are preparing package number 18 within the European Union of sanctions against Russia. There is only one member state missing to agree on that,” Merz told participants, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders. “I urgently ask Slovakia and its Prime Minister (Robert Fico) to give up the resistance and make the way free for package number 18 within the European Union,” he stressed. Merz noted that Ukraine has agreed to an immediate ceasefire without preconditions, while Russia has instead escalated its military attacks, targeting Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure with missiles and drones. “This has to end. It therefore remains our political duty to increase pressure on Russia in order to change President Putin's calculus and bring him to the negotiating table,” he said.