Olha Stefanishyna: Ukraine fully complies with ambitious schedule of negotiations with the EU

Ukraine fully complies with the ambitious schedule of the negotiation process with the EU. This was stated by Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, during a joint meeting of the Government of Ukraine and the College of European Commissioners held in Kyiv on the third anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I am pleased to confirm in your presence today that Ukraine has withstood and remains committed to the dynamic movement towards EU membership. We have already prepared roadmaps that provide an ambitious guide for future reforms in the areas of rule of law and anti-corruption, as well as public administration transformation. In the Government, we have also been working hard with the Parliament and civil society to prepare a roadmap for the functioning of democratic institutions in times of war. This is the basis for the functioning of the state during the war and preparation for the post-war period. We look forward to the opportunity to present these roadmaps to the European Commission and member states for further decision-making, which will bring the opening of the first and all subsequent negotiating clusters closer,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

According to her, the Ukrainian side is adhering to an ambitious schedule of the negotiation process, fulfilling all its obligations on time.

In addition, Olha Stefanishyna noted, there were many opportunities to deepen integration before the moment of EU membership, which should be used. In particular, Ukraine has presented proposals for sectoral integration, which it hopes to discuss at the next meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council.

“We have an ambitious agenda for this year, we confirm that we have sufficient capacity to open all the clusters, and we will work hard to mobilise the unity within the EU that fuels this process. We also fully support any changes to the procedures that will allow us to move forward without delay,” she stressed.

The Deputy Prime Minister also welcomed the EU Council’s decision to adopt the 16th package of sanctions targeting russia for its aggression toward Ukraine.

“This is a very important signal that at crucial moments the EU states are united. We must continue the dialogue on the frozen russian assets. While the russian side has stated that this will be one of the requirements at the negotiating table later, it is very important to focus on this issue now and work together with a view to the future,” she said.

Olha Stefanishyna thanked the European Union for its clear position that russia must be held accountable for its crimes.

“We appreciate your work in defining the legal basis for the establishment of a special tribunal to bring the perpetrators to justice,” she said.

According to Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine is also preparing the legal framework, necessary information and data that will be submitted to the Special Tribunal.

“All this data is being accumulated in Ukrainian registers and databases and will be verified and submitted to the Special Tribunal when the time comes. This is not only about fair compensation, but also about accountability and responsibility. And it is very important that at this particular moment we are all united in the fact that russia’s responsibility is not subject to discussion,” the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.