On Friday, March 8, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna held an online call with Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union.
The parties talked about the next steps in the accession negotiations with Ukraine. The Deputy Prime Minister briefed her Belgian counterpart in detail on Ukraine's implementation of the 4 recommendations identified by the European Commission in the 2023 Enlargement Package. The parties also discussed preparations for and expectations from the EU leaders' summit on March 21-22.
"I would like to thank you for the ongoing dialog. Belgium is our important strategic partner and advocate of Ukraine's European integration aspirations. We greatly appreciate the activity of your country within the framework of its presidency of the Council of the European Union and are glad that today we have the opportunity to exchange views on the negotiation process and the EU enlargement process in general," Olha Stefanishyna stressed.
Minister Hadja Lahbib praised the resilience and work of the Ukrainian authorities, which, despite the ongoing full-scale war, continue to actively pursue key reforms and fulfill the conditions necessary to launch direct negotiations on EU accession. The Minister called for maintaining this momentum of transformation and assured that Belgium would continue to support Ukraine on this path.
For her part, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need to make key decisions on enlargement before the European Parliament elections and the further formation of the new European Commission.
"Today, there is every reason to believe that all the steps expected from Ukraine in the context of launching negotiations and the adoption of the negotiation framework by the European Commission have been fulfilled. For example, our Parliament has voted for the necessary legislation to strengthen anti-corruption bodies, adopted a law on fair lobbying; legislation on the protection of national minority rights has been updated, and the Government has approved the necessary regulations. Thus, Ukraine, for its part, has taken the necessary steps to ensure that the negotiation framework is adopted as soon as possible. We count on Belgium's leadership in reaching a consensus among the member states on this decision," the official said.
Olha Stefanishyna added that the absence of delays on the part of the EU would allow maintaining the high dynamics of internal reforms through mobilization of the Parliament, Government and civil society of Ukraine around the European integration agenda.
The interlocutors agreed to keep in close touch ahead of meetings in Brussels, including the EU's General Affairs Council on May 19, which will review Ukraine's progress in reforms.