The Nordic-Baltic Eight advisory group will support Ukraine in its EU accession negotiations. The approximation of Ukrainian legislation to the European one in trade relations, labour legislation and public procurement were discussed during a meeting between Deputy Ministers of Economy of Ukraine Taras Kachka, Tetiana Berezhna and Nadiia Bihun and representatives of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) advisory group on 23 July.
“Even in the midst of a full-scale war, the Government continues to implement reforms, changes and transformations that will help us build a new country and become a worthy member of the European family. It is important that Ukraine starts the negotiation process prepared – positive assessments of Ukraine’s approximation to the EU are based on the long-term implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Today we will focus on such topics as free access of Ukrainian goods to the EU markets, updating labour legislation and public procurement reform,” said Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine.
Taras Kachka noted that economic integration with the EU should go hand in hand with negotiations so that Ukrainian businesses could enjoy the benefits of free access to the European market even before joining the EU.
Deputy Minister of Economy Tetiana Berezhna stressed that labour relations were one of the biggest challenges for Ukraine. The Ministry of Economy is working on updating labour legislation to ensure a balance in the relations between employees and employers, while protecting the rights of both parties. This issue is particularly important in the context of the country’s recovery and reconstruction. At the same time, the modernised labour code should comply with all the rules of negotiation.
The negotiation process in public procurement is one of the most important steps towards EU membership. According to Deputy Minister Nadiia Bihun, the Government aims to ensure the full opening of the public procurement market between Ukraine and the EU under the Association Agreement before accession. Ukraine has been consistently moving towards harmonisation of national legislation with the European one and is now continuing to work in this direction – currently, Ukraine is at the third stage of five stages of opening the public procurement market between Ukraine and the EU.
Background
The Nordic-Baltic Cooperation is a high-level advisory group on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. The group consists of former European Commissioners, ministers and ambassadors with first-hand experience of EU accession and EU institutions.
The European Union is Ukraine’s main trading partner. In January-May 2024, the share of trade in goods with the EU was 52.7% of Ukraine’s total trade. The European Union was also one of the first to support the Ukrainian economy during the full-scale war by cancelling duties, quotas and trade defence measures on 4 June 2022. In addition, the Solidarity Lanes initiative has become an important mechanism to support the economy during the war and challenges in trade across the Black Sea.