From 8 to 10 October, Ukrainian delegations will take part in the third round of bilateral meetings between Ukraine and the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, as part of the official screening of the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law, which is part of the EU accession negotiations.

All meetings will be held in a hybrid format – Ukrainian delegations will participate both offline and online. Ukraine will be represented by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, ministries, agencies and anti-corruption bodies.

The head of the delegation and chief negotiator of Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna, will participate in the meetings online.

Thus, on 8 October, a bilateral meeting will be held on the Economic Criteria area, as well as on the negotiated Chapter 32, Financial Control. The focus will be on analysing Ukraine’s ability to ensure the functioning of a stable and efficient market economy, as well as its ability to withstand competitive pressure and operate in the EU single market.

The discussion of Chapter 32 will focus on key aspects of the system of state internal financial control, external audit, protection of financial interests, etc.

On 9 October, a session on Public Administration Reform will be held. The Ukrainian side and the European Commission will review the current public administration reform strategy, human resource management within the civil service, the legal framework for the organisation of public authorities and accountability, the division of responsibilities between all levels of government, the oversight mechanism, and accountability in public authorities.

On 10 October, Ukraine and the EU will hold a bilateral session on the Functioning of Democratic Institutions. The agenda includes the principles of democracy, the electoral process, the functioning of parliament in a democratic system, and the role and development of civil society.

Background

During bilateral meetings as part of the official screening process, the European Commission and the candidate country thoroughly compare the candidate country’s legislation, strategic framework, institutional structures and administrative capacities with EU standards. This is the basis for developing recommendations to the European Commission in each area of the negotiation process.

Based on the results of the screening, the European Commission will prepare a report on the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law for each negotiation cluster. This document will finally clarify the level of compliance and the further scope of work.