The delegation of Ukraine headed by the Chief Negotiator – Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna – has started work at the second EU-Ukraine bilateral session within the framework of the screening of the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law.

The meeting will be held in Brussels (Belgium) from 17 to 19 September and is dedicated to negotiating Chapter 23 “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” (Cluster 1 “Fundamentals of the EU accession process”). The agenda includes presentations in three blocks: Judiciary, Anti-Corruption Policy and Fundamental Rights.

In her opening remarks, the Deputy Prime Minister thanked the European side for supporting the transformation of Ukraine and the Ukrainian delegation for its thorough and careful preparation for the talks.

“We start today’s meeting confident, fully prepared, with not only functioning institutions but also a legislative framework that meets international standards and norms in the field of the rule of law. We are approaching the EU accession process at the most difficult stage of our transformation. At the same time, we need to make sure that the adopted legislation is properly implemented, that the institutions are functioning and that they are effective. There are many steps along the way, and we have been taking them and will continue to do so together. The main strength of our dialogue is that the European Union has been supporting the Ukrainian people since the day when citizens came to Maidan to fight for a European future. This was done for the sake of Europe and European values, and we have travelled this whole path of transformation together. So we have something to evaluate, something to improve, but I am convinced that we will go through this path with your support,” said Olha Stefanishyna.

She emphasised that Ukraine intended to present a roadmap for the rule of law as soon as possible, which is the next step after the screening meeting.

“We continue to work with the European Commission to implement real transformations based on the best European practices and in line with European values. Thus, the deadlines will be agreed on the basis of the roadmap for rule of law reforms that we will present. We will do our best to make this happen as soon as possible,” the official stressed.

For their part, representatives of the European Commission noted the comprehensive and detailed preparatory work carried out by the Ukrainian side for the bilateral meeting.

Marc Jorna, Head of Unit at the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), who chaired the meeting, assured that the European Commission would provide all necessary assistance to Ukraine.

Anna Jarosz-Friis, Director of the Ukraine Service at the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), thanked the Ukrainian delegation for its thorough work.

The Ukrainian delegation includes, in particular, Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration Liudmyla Suhak, Commissioner for the European Court of Human Rights Margarita Sokorenko, Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention Viktor Pavlushchyk, Deputy Minister of Social Policy Iryna Postolovska, Head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Yelenskyy, representatives of the judiciary (High Council of Justice, High Qualification Commission of Judges), the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General’s Office, anti-corruption bodies and others. In total, about 300 representatives of state institutions from Ukraine are taking part in the meeting online and offline.

Background

Chapter 23 covers EU law and policies in the areas of independent and effective judiciary; prevention and fight against corruption as a threat to the stability of democratic institutions and the rule of law; fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by EU treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: children’s rights, protection of persons reporting violations of EU law, protection of personal data, procedural rights and guarantees, rights of victims of crime, combating racism and xenophobia, freedom of expression, non-discrimination, protection of Roma rights, gender equality, rights of persons with disabilities, rights of citizens of EU member states. Chapters 23 “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” and 24 “Justice, Freedom and Security” are the most important chapters throughout the negotiation process. No EU negotiating chapter will be closed until the benchmarks within these two chapters are met.