On 28 June, the Seventh Meeting of the EU-Ukraine High-Level Dialogue on Horizontal Issues and Specific Industrial Sectors (Industrial Dialogue) took place. The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine, and the EU delegation was led by Maive Rute, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission.

During the meeting, the Ukrainian side presented its position on the state of the Ukrainian industry in the context of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. In particular, the parties discussed:

• problematic issues of the Ukrainian mining industry and opportunities for attracting EU investments;
• opportunities to restore Ukraine’s metallurgical industry, which has suffered significant losses as a result of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine;
• intensification of cooperation on the conclusion of the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA Agreement);
• current issues of cooperation in the field of public procurement;
• existing and potential EU instruments to support domestic small and medium-sized enterprises;
• the EU’s provision and placement of solar panels and batteries in Ukraine in connection with the electricity shortage caused by large-scale destruction of energy facilities;
• problematic issues of the Ukrainian construction industry, as well as the utilisation and disposal of asbestos-containing materials.

The Industrial Dialogue also included a seminar on business opportunities in Ukraine, which was attended by representatives of the Ukrainian and European private sectors.

Following the meeting, the parties developed areas for further cooperation on the issues discussed during the event.

The meeting was held online and was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mission of Ukraine to the EU, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, industrial companies and associations of industrial enterprises of Ukraine, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) and the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) of the European Commission, the EBA, EUROFER, other EU institutions and companies.