Strengthening international advocacy for Ukraine on its path to EU membership: Vsevolod Chentsov meets Ukrainian World Congress delegation
On 25 August, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Vsevolod Chentsov met a delegation from the Ukrainian World Congress during its visit to Kyiv.
The delegation was led by Ukrainian World Congress President Paul Grod. Oleksandr Ilkov, Director-General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, also attended the meeting.
The parties discussed a range of issues, focusing on strengthening international advocacy for Ukraine on its path towards membership of the European Union and NATO, uniting Ukrainian communities abroad in support of the country, and deepening regional and cross-border ties.
The Deputy Prime Minister thanked the representatives of the Ukrainian World Congress for their consistent support for Ukraine and Ukrainians, both abroad and within the country.
“Ukrainian communities abroad are doing an extraordinary amount of work to ensure that Ukraine’s voice is heard in different countries. This has a direct impact on how our partners perceive Ukraine and helps shape a new vision: Ukraine is and will remain an integral part of the European community. Our task now is to continue strengthening this image and broadening the circle of support,” Vsevolod Chentsov said.
The parties agreed to pay particular attention to uniting Ukrainian communities around joint advocacy for Ukraine’s EU membership. Strengthening cross-border ties, exchanging expertise and practical experience, and developing regional cooperation were also identified as important priorities.
In this context, Mykola-Myroslav Petretskyi, UWC Vice-President for the Eastern Europe region, emphasised the importance of drawing on Romania’s experience as Ukraine advances towards EU membership, particularly its experience of legislative reform and integration both before and after joining the European Union.
The participants also discussed the need to improve communication with European partners concerning the results of Ukraine’s reforms and its fulfilment of the necessary commitments.
In this context, considerable attention was devoted to the rule of law and the fight against corruption. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed the importance of demonstrating Ukraine’s progress to its partners clearly and consistently, as well as communicating openly about the comprehensive changes currently under way.
“We have many tasks to complete as part of the EU accession negotiations. It is a complex and lengthy process, but we are seeing positive momentum and moving forwards consistently. The Government, Parliament and civil society continue to work together to deliver the necessary changes and demonstrate them to our partners. We are also counting on the capabilities of the Ukrainian diaspora and the Ukrainian World Congress in this work,” Vsevolod Chentsov emphasised.
The meeting participants also discussed long-term advocacy for Ukraine’s future EU membership. In particular, they addressed the need to begin laying the groundwork now for the subsequent stages of the process – from completing the negotiations and signing the accession treaty to its ratification by all EU Member States.
They also discussed temporary protection for Ukrainians in EU countries. The parties noted the need to begin developing mechanisms now that will enable Ukrainians who wish to do so to return to Ukraine safely and comfortably once the temporary protection arrangements come to an end.
The Deputy Prime Minister and representatives of the Ukrainian World Congress reaffirmed their readiness to continue coordinating their efforts to strengthen international support for Ukraine, advance its European and Euro-Atlantic integration, and reinforce ties between Ukraine and Ukrainian communities around the world.