Ukrainian deputy PM says European integration roadmap to be unveiled to business in May

MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has begun evaluating national legislation for compliance with the European Union's laws and plans to present the results of this assessment before the end of May, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishina said.

"In late May [...] we will present a roadmap, but we need to do it first [...] Business should determine its red lines, calculate financial costs, you will be able to begin doing it starting from May. We will present our vision and our path," Ukrainian media quoted Stefanishina as saying in a statement at the Exporters Summit, organized by Forbes Ukraine in Kiev.

It is an enormous number of EU legal acts - 29,000, whereas there were about 400 of them before this stage, she said.

Realistically, negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU could start at the end of 2023, she said.

The biggest challenge is the environmental and climate policy related to the green transformation, Stefanishina said, adding that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a month ago that this is the field where Ukraine has the lowest rating of readiness for integration with Europe.

Ukraine lags decades behind in certain issues, Stefanishina said, underscoring the need to introduce the carbon tax from which Ukraine managed to secure certain exemptions in the past.