The decision on Ukraine’s membership in the European Union has a geopolitical dimension: Olha Stefanishyna at the meeting with the President of the French National Assembly

On Friday, March 29, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna met with the President of the National Assembly of France Yael Braun-Pivet during her visit to Kyiv.

Among other participants of the meeting were Vice President of the French National Assembly Valérie Rabault, Head of the Defense Committee Thomas Gassilloud and Head of the France-Ukraine Friendship Committee Benjamin Haddad.

In the course of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed gratitude to France for its leadership and support.

Yael Braun-Pivet emphasized that her country pays close attention to Ukraine’s future accession to the European Union and noted the progress of our country in taking the necessary steps to open membership negotiations and implement the relevant legislation.

“The European path was laid in the foundation of our transformation 10 years ago with the victory of the Revolution of Dignity. It was the first step towards the irreversibility of our changes and our return to the European family. With the outbreak of a full-scale war, it was the decision to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for membership, which was supported by France, one of the key leaders of the European Union, that became the main factor in uniting society and politicians around reforms and the belief in Ukraine’s victory in this aggressive war of Russia,” emphasized Olha Stefanishyna.

She said that today the context of Ukraine’s European integration has a completely different meaning. Indeed, the issue of reforms could have been discussed in peacetime. At the same time, with the beginning of full-scale aggression, there is a clear understanding at all levels of the legislative and executive branches that transformations related to the European path are absolutely necessary to strengthen the country’s resilience and prepare Ukraine for victory.

“We have a moral obligation to our citizens, despite all the discussions and difficulties, we have made all the necessary decisions, and by our movement and efficiency we demonstrate that there will be no delay, we are ready to move quickly, these reforms are primarily in the interests of Ukraine. Now that we are close to the actual opening of the negotiation process, it is important to maintain the momentum, especially in political and sectoral reforms, and this will be impossible without the support of the EU member states. Ukraine is fully prepared for the negotiation process. We hope that key decisions will be made quickly, and the first important test will be the decision to approve the negotiation framework presented by the European Commission in June this year,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

The President of the French National Assembly, for her part, assured that her country shares Ukraine’s vision and supports that the first intergovernmental conference should take place no later than June during Belgium’s presidency of the EU Council.

“The decision to enlarge the EU returned the European Union to the geopolitical arena. Today it is clear that Europe must take responsibility for its security, its existence and its future. Therefore, the decision on the membership of Ukraine and other countries in the European Union has a geopolitical dimension. Ukraine has repeatedly proved its ability to do everything necessary to ensure that decisions at the level of leaders are made. We urge member states to drive the enlargement process with the understanding that you can be confident in Ukraine,” emphasized Olha Stefanishyna.

The meeting also touched upon the issue of extending the EU’s autonomous trade preferences for Ukraine. The Deputy Prime Minister reminded that the EU ambassadors had recently reached an agreement on the terms of further trade liberalization.

“This provides for certain protective measures and a clear monitoring mechanism. This approach allows countries to monitor imports of certain groups of goods to the European Union on an individual basis. At the same time, we should not forget that the decision on trade liberalization was made as an element of response to the consequences of Russian aggression. For almost 10 years of the Free Trade Area, which provided for substantial liberalization of access to the EU markets, Ukraine has not created any problems in the market. Any issues that arise now do not come from Ukraine’s unfair behavior. They are a direct consequence of Russian aggression and the inability of the Ukrainian market to function in the conditions that existed before the war,” she emphasized, calling for support for the measures necessary for the survival of the Ukrainian economy.

The two sides also discussed the results of the intergovernmental consultations between the Governments of Ukraine and Poland that took place this week in Warsaw.

“This was the first visit of the Ukrainian Government in almost full force to Poland since the beginning of the invasion. It confirmed that any emerging point turbulence cannot divide us. It was a manifestation of unity and willingness to engage in dialogue despite the challenges,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.