On Tuesday, January 24, a regular meeting of the EU Solidarity with Ukraine Platform was held with the participation of Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, and Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs. The platform was created to coordinate the efforts of the EU member states and agencies to support Ukrainians seeking temporary protection due to the war.

During the event, the following issues were discussed: recognition of Ukrainian electronic documents in the EU, employment of Ukrainians in the European Union, proper education of Ukrainian children, professional development opportunities for Ukrainian teachers, as well as strengthening the protection of the rights of children deprived of parental care who are now in the EU, etc.

Olha Stefanishyna welcomed the EU Talent Pool Pilot initiative, a European project that helps Ukrainians find jobs. The Deputy Prime Minister suggested extending this experience to other areas, including education.

"The issue that is in our constant focus is the recognition and issuance of documents. It is important that Ukrainian citizens are provided with original national documents, such as ID cards, to be able to return to Ukraine, and have the opportunity to obtain driver's licenses and vehicle registration certificates. This is done through consular offices. But we are also launching a network of centers that will allow us to produce and print documents in different countries of the European Union," said Olha Stefanishyna.

The Deputy Prime Minister informed about the possibilities of expanding the network of separate subdivisions of SE "Document" abroad to provide Ukrainian citizens with services for the preparation and issuance of documents. She also called on the EU member states, which currently host the largest number of Ukrainian citizens, to help open local centers.

They also discussed the recognition of guardianship documents, notarized documents, documents for children and people with disabilities.

"Child protection is one of the key issues for Ukrainian society. Special attention is needed to protect children deprived of parental care. It is important to introduce a system of data exchange on the number of orphans currently staying in EU member states due to russia's armed aggression against Ukraine," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

For her part, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson emphasized that over the past 11 months the European Union had demonstrated unwavering support for Ukraine: "We will support Ukraine for as long as it requires."

She noted that the network of Ukrainian embassies in the EU member states "plays a key role in understanding the problems faced by people fleeing the horrors of war".

"During this time, the Solidarity Platform has become a central element of our collective response to the war against Ukraine. We have engaged the Ukrainian authorities at all levels. Thank you very much for your good cooperation," said Ylva Johansson.

At the meeting, she announced that she would personally come to Kyiv next week to continue a direct dialog with the Ukrainian Government.

In addition, the participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyy and other victims of the Brovary disaster.