The European mini-summit, held yesterday with the participation of the President of Ukraine, gathered three presidents - the President of the Council of Europe Donald Tusk, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker – to tackle the issue of support for Ukraine. Today, not only Ukraine demonstrates the aspiration for European integration through amendments to the Constitution and pursuing reforms, but also the EU countries have a pro-Ukrainian position. This was emphasized in the comments for television channel Pryamy (Direct) by Deputy Prime Minister/ Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine Hennadii Zubko.

"The key issues of the meetings are the imposition of new sanctions against Russia, the release of Ukrainian sailors from Russian captivity, and the support by the EU of freedom of navigation in the Azov Sea. There was a constructive dialog on supporting the Azov-Black Sea area of Ukraine in implementing infrastructure projects: rail and road communication, support of critical infrastructure, and the main thing is the socio-economic support of the region. Yesterday's discussion on reforms implemented by Ukraine is also important. We have received a very positive assessment of reforms on deregulation, decentralization, and the introduction of new social standards for citizens", said Hennadii Zubko.

The official said that on the results of the meetings the parties reached an agreement to sign a deal between Ukraine and the EU on the implementation of the second stage of the program U-LEAD with Europe. This will contribute not only to the amalgamation of communities but also to the implementation of active sectoral reforms in education, healthcare, administrative and security services.

"It was also about supporting Ukraine in its strive for energy independence and the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Fund project. And I was very pleased to hear from the European Commissioner Johannes Hahn that Ukraine's experience in implementing energy efficiency tools will be replicated in Georgia and other countries. And this already gives us the opportunity to say - Ukraine is taking effective steps that can demonstrate this success not only within the country but on the international level as well", said Hennadii Zubko.