Arseniy Yatsenyuk met with EP delegation led by Chair of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok

On Friday, July 24, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk held a meeting with a delegation from the European Parliament headed by Chair of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok.

From the European Parliament in the meeting there was participating, in particular, Chairman of the Ukraine-EU Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Andrej Plenkovic.

During the meeting the parties focused on issues of free and fair elections in Ukraine.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk informed that he appealed to the Central Electoral Commission and the Security Service of Ukraine with a demand to ensure free and fair elections in the 205 single-mandate constituency in Chernihiv. “This is a test for the Ukrainian democracy. After all, the elections in the 205 constituency imply the preparation to the local elections to be held on October 25," explained the Head of Government of Ukraine.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed the importance of cooperation with the western partners in the process of preparation: "It is crucial to have a meeting with the CEC and to ensure the presence of EU observers and a technical mission to support us in holding free and fair elections to the local authorities".

The participants of the meeting also discussed the topical issues of social and economic situation in Ukraine. "A lot depends on the debt restructuring process", accentuated Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

He added that the Government of Ukraine had met all the demands of the International Monetary Fund and expected a positive decision on the outcome of a meeting of the IMF Board on July 31 regarding the next tranche.

"But it is not a final decision. We need to jump-start Ukraine's economy and support those who need it, whose standards of living have dropped significantly. The Government is trying to find a way to increase social spending. We will solve this problem together", stressed the Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that the Government of Ukraine highly appreciates the cooperation with the European Parliament and their steady position in supporting the Ukrainian people – "to help the people fight and win on both fronts: on the one hand – the Russian aggression, and on the other - grave social and economic problems".

"I believe that despite all the challenges, due to our joint actions we will build the story of success", stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk.