Ukraine has an ambitious goal of getting ready for membership in the European Union in two years. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stressed during a press conference with Ukrainian journalists in Kyiv on September 14. According to the Head of the Ukrainian Government, what our state had planned before the war to do in the direction of European integration in two years, we have managed to achieve in the last 6 months.

"Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has obtained visa-free regimes in four sectors with the EU and will receive four more in the near future. Our energy system is now a part of the European one, and Ukraine already earns billions of hryvnias from exporting electricity to EU countries - this is an energy visa waiver. We obtained a visa waiver in the economy sector, or the exemption of products manufactured by Ukrainian businesses from all tariffs and quotas. A visa-free regime in the transport sector, or the liberalization of road transport, is already in effect, thereby saving businesses their time and money on logistics. From October 1, the visa-free customs system will be operational, thereby allowing us to further integrate our customs with the European customs," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Denys Shmyhal also noted that in the next six months, Ukraine would receive an industrial visa-free regime, thereby enabling us to export our industrial products to Europe with Ukrainian certificates. In addition, the Government is working on Ukraine's accession to the EU single roaming space, the SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area), and integration into the European digital market.

Moreover, the Prime Minister emphasized that the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Verkhovna Rada had developed a clear roadmap aimed to accelerate European integration processes.

"This will help us to transfer to a specific membership negotiation procedure at the beginning of next year. The pace of changes that we are currently demonstrating allows us to form expectations that in two years we will be fully ready for membership in the European Union," stressed Denys Shmyhal.