EU Accession Is a Matter of Justice for Ukraine – Olha Stefanishyna

EU membership is a matter of justice for Ukraine. This was the message delivered by Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, during the panel discussion “The European Dimension – EU Accession and Related Reforms” held as part of the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) in Rome.

During the discussion, panelists addressed Ukraine’s progress on the path to European integration and the process of aligning Ukraine’s policies and institutions with European standards.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the European Commission for its support of Ukraine and for the daily, productive work within the accession process. She noted that thousands of staff on both sides – in Ukraine and in the European Commission – are engaged in this effort every day.

“We consider European integration a priority and recognize that now there is momentum for the enlargement process. It is very important, I believe, that this process goes beyond technical procedures. Of course, we follow procedures and believe in the merit-based approach. At the same time, the European Commission itself has made enlargement its key policy, a crucial geopolitical vector of its sovereignty and strength. I believe we are doing everything possible to contribute to this goal, standing on the front line to defend our right to remain a European and democratic state, in the fourth year of full-scale war and more than eleven years after the occupation of Crimea and the Revolution of Dignity. We are also helping Member States and the European Commission sustain the momentum for enlargement by doing the work we must do,” Stefanishyna stressed.

She highlighted that as early as 2019, Ukraine began implementing a series of reforms related to integrity, the restart of the judicial system, and the establishment and full functioning of anti-corruption and judicial institutions. Although these reforms sparked many difficult debates, they were ultimately successfully carried out, launching a broader process of transformation.

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled words from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoken to her in 2022 after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status. At that time, the Head of State stressed that it was the best moment to implement key reforms. According to Stefanishyna, this approach has been successfully realised – Ukraine has set a clear priority on reforms aimed at EU accession, and this process can no longer be stopped. She also emphasised that attempts by certain actors to influence this process or exploit it for their own interests are futile.

“If you ask me whether we can move faster – yes, we can. Because we believe in this European dream and believe that if we do everything right, we will achieve the result. For us, this is a matter of justice. This is the dream of the Ukrainian people. It is not just a process, documents, laws. It is everything together, driven by the will of the Ukrainian people. So yes, we can move faster. There is only one thing we do not want – for enlargement to become a burden for the European Union. This can be a tremendous success for the entire EU, all Member States, the Commission, and all candidate countries. And if we remember this 24/7, it will surely become a success story,” Stefanishyna underlined.

Participants in the panel discussion included European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys, Italian Minister for European Affairs Tommaso Foti, French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Citizens Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin, and Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Oana Toiu.

In her remarks, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Marta Kos praised the pace of Ukraine’s accession negotiations, expressing confidence that the EU would be ready to open the first Negotiating Clusters with Ukraine already in 2025.

First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniienko stressed the key role of Parliament in ensuring the legislative support for the European integration process. He noted that more than 200 Members of Parliament are already engaged in the negotiation process within thematic working groups.

Sweden’s Minister for EU Affairs emphasised that EU enlargement has once again become a priority on the European agenda, and it was Ukraine that brought this issue back into the political discussion. She particularly highlighted the strong level of public support for Ukraine’s EU accession in Sweden: according to updated data, 91% of Swedes support Ukraine’s membership in the EU.