The Ukrainian economy and businesses should shape the vision of Ukraine's future integration into the European Union market. This was stated by Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, in her statement at the 2024 Exporters Summit "Made in Ukraine", organised by Forbes Ukraine.

The discussion focused on Ukraine's main achievements on the path of European integration over the past year.

"I am proud to say that European integration is on track. That is, despite all the turbulence and the ambitious goals I mentioned last year, we have achieved them. Firstly, the decision was made to open negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU. The first stage has already begun, which involves screening our legislation for compliance with European standards, and in fact, we expect the first negotiating sessions to open in June," Olha Stefanishyna said.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, since the European leaders made the decision to open accession negotiations, the Ukrainian side has fully managed to structure the negotiation process.

"The proactive position of business, particularly at the EU level, is now critical; the Ukrainian economy and Ukrainian entrepreneurs should be the driver of the negotiating position. Your future is in your hands. That is, either you fully transfer responsibility to the authorities or give us your vision of how to protect Ukrainian producers, national production, and increase its capacity through appropriate conditions that will be in place in future negotiations. For our part, we guarantee the openness of this process. On your part, submit proposals," she stressed.

Commenting on the situation in the agricultural sector, in particular in the context of controversial issues and the blocking of the border with Poland, Olha Stefanishyna stressed the importance of dialogue between the parties, including at the level of agricultural associations.

"Such a dialogue would be very helpful to both the Ukrainian and Polish governments, because we are actually friendly countries, Poland supports Ukraine in many issues, and it is more difficult to agree on such things at the highest political level. Therefore, business-to-business dialogue is vitally important," the official stressed.

In the context of the upcoming transition of the Ukrainian economy to European regulations, she stressed that it would be strategically more profitable for companies to operate in the "white business".

"An EU regulation has been adopted to create the Ukraine Facility, which provides for the approval of Ukraine's plan. It includes an investment component and priority areas, such as energy, transport, IT, logistics, and agricultural products. These are the sectors that will be prioritised for investment through European financial institutions. New opportunities will open up, but at the same time, this will require the transition to European standards," she added.

In response to a question about strengthening the security component, the Deputy Prime Minister reminded that Ukraine had already signed a number of security agreements with key allies. "This means that these countries will stay by our side for the next decade, and they will do their best to help us."