On 13 January, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna met with the newly appointed Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Stéphane Séjourné, who had arrived in Kyiv on an official visit.

"We are deeply grateful to France, which was one of the first EU member states to offer its expert assistance in the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU. This exchange of experience and expertise will not only strengthen Ukraine on its way to membership, but also deepen relations between our countries. I would like to emphasise that the country is fully capable of going through all stages of the negotiation process. We have clearly demonstrated that neither the Government nor the Parliament will tolerate any delays or procrastination when it comes to decisions related to European integration. In addition to a large Government team, we have strong expertise within civil society," the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

For his part, Stéphane Séjourné assured that France would support Ukraine at every step of its European path and was ready to provide expert assistance to speed up Ukraine's achievement of the accession criteria.

On the eve of the extraordinary European Council Summit on 1 February, Olha Stefanishyna and Stéphane Séjourné focused on preparing decisions on Ukraine, including the adoption of a new EUR 50 billion financial instrument.

"It is vital for us to have a decision on multi-year assistance, as the relevant mechanism ensures economic stability and predictability for the country in the future. We count on France's leadership and support in reaching the relevant consensus of the Member States," the Deputy Prime Minister stated.

During the meeting, the participants also discussed the process of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration and expectations from the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington.

"We have a solid basis for making political decisions at the Summit. Since the Summit in Vilnius, we have launched a fully functioning NATO-Ukraine Council at all levels, prepared an agenda for reforms in the security and defence sector, a comprehensive assistance plan, and a roadmap for achieving full interoperability. All Allies understand that the next step towards Ukraine's membership in NATO is now. So we will continue to work on this, and we hope for your support," said Olha Stefanishyna.