28 Feb 2023 13:37

Verkhovna Rada speaker: Ukraine actively working on promoting integration with EU

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Ukraine is actively working on reforms that are needed to start negotiations on accession to the European Union, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said.

"We are not just waiting for negotiations on further full-fledged membership in the EU, but we stand ready to implement all reforms needed for that and are actively working on deepening Ukraine's integration with the EU," Ukrainian media quoted Stefanchuk as saying at a meeting in Kiev with a delegation of the European Parliament's European People's Party (EPP) led by the party's president Manfred Weber (Germany).

During the meeting, the parties discussed the process of Ukraine's integration with Europe, the start of negotiations on its Ukraine's membership in the EU and future cooperation, the Verkhovna Rada said on its website. Stefanchuk said that Ukraine is determined to show the maximum result in fulfilling the European Commission's seven recommendations for the start of accession talks during the interim (verbal) assessment this spring.

Stefanchuk also emphasized the importance of the EPP's consistent position on the issue of negotiations on Ukraine's full-fledged membership in the EU.

"The situation in Ukraine will always be important to us, so Europe should be united, strong and active in supporting you," Weber, in turn, said.