Olha Stefanishyna discussed with European Commissioners deepening sectoral integration with the EU alongside accession negotiations

On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna held a series of meetings with her EU counterparts, in particular Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age and Competition; Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy; Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration; and Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

The Deputy Prime Minister informed about Ukraine's progress in reforms and stressed the importance of a dynamic negotiation process for their sustainability. At the same time, Olha Stefanishyna emphasised the significant opportunities for further sectoral integration provided by the current Association Agreement with the EU.

"We want to further deepen the integration of various sectors into the EU's Internal Market, and the Association Agreement gives us this opportunity. For our part, we have already developed a number of proposals for integration in the digital, energy, economic and other areas, and we count on the cooperation and support of the European Commission. Our idea is to deepen integration in parallel with the EU accession negotiations," Olha Stefanishyna said.

During the meetings, the participants also discussed topical issues on the EU-Ukraine agenda, including the functioning of the EU's financial support instrument for Ukraine, the Ukraine Facility, for 2024-2027, and the possibility of attracting a wider range of donors to ensure macroeconomic stability and predictability of assistance in the recovery and reform of our country. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed the importance of supporting Ukrainian businesses and producers in the face of the ongoing war, including the inadmissibility of unilateral export blocking by individual EU member states.

Separately, the parties discussed energy security and the development of renewable energy sources in Ukraine. During the meeting with Johannes Hahn, the top officials discussed support through European financial institutions, attracting additional funding, and ensuring proper joint monitoring of the use of funds.

Olha Stefanishyna talked over Ukraine's integration into the EU's Digital Single Market on its way to EU membership with Margrethe Vestager. The participants noted the progress in the implementation of EU roaming legislation into Ukrainian legislation to ensure Ukraine's early accession to the EU's common roaming space.

The main subject of the conversation with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson was the coordination of efforts to ensure the functioning of the temporary asylum mechanism for Ukrainians fleeing the war. According to the EU, 4.3 million Ukrainians have so far found refuge in its member states.