Olha Stefanishyna had a phone conversation with the newly appointed Austrian Minister for Europe

On 11 March, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, congratulated Claudia Plakolm on her appointment as Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Family in the newly formed government of Austria under the leadership of Chancellor Christian Stocker.

During the conversation, the Deputy Prime Minister informed her Austrian counterpart about the progress of the negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, including bilateral meetings within the framework of the screening of the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law, and stressed the expectations for the opening of the first negotiation clusters as soon as possible.

“With our joint efforts, this period can become the ‘spring of enlargement’, we see the momentum for this, as well as the huge potential of our negotiating team. I really hope that we will be able to overcome the artificial obstacles created on this path. This is a chance for all the enlargement countries,” said Olha Stefanishyna, urging Austria to take a proactive stance.

She also thanked Austria for continuing to support Ukraine and its movement towards EU membership.

The parties discussed the security situation in Ukraine and efforts to achieve a just and sustainable peace. In this context, the Deputy Prime Minister noted the strong position and unity within the EU on the need to strengthen security on the continent: “Together, we must make sure that Europe becomes stronger and safer, but this is impossible without ending russia’s war against Ukraine and achieving a sustainable peace,” she stressed.