Greetings, esteemed colleagues and fellow Ukrainians!

Ukraine continues to integrate into the European internal market. We continue our fruitful cooperation with European partners for the transformation and reforms in Ukraine. We are moving towards our ambitious goal of being ready to join the EU in a maximum of 2 years.

Yesterday, the European Union and Ukraine extended the “transport visa-free regime” for another year, until June 30, 2024. This means that Ukrainian carriers will further need no permits for bilateral and transit transportation to the EU. The transport agreement has proven to be effective since its inception. The volume of cargo transportation and the number of carriers have increased by more than 50%.

The “transport visa-free regime” is an integral part of our integration with the EU. It is an opportunity for more Ukrainian entrepreneurs to enter European markets. This is part of building an export-oriented economy in Ukraine.

The “transport visa-free regime” contributes to the successful modernization of logistics in the western direction. We are integrating into the European transport network, TEN-T. We continue to implement the Solidarity Lanes initiative to increase exports of Ukrainian agricultural products.

At the same time, we are working with our partners to continue the grain initiative. Since the beginning of the initiative, we have managed to export over 24 million tonnes of food. With the Black Sea routes unblocked, we can export twice as much.

Ukraine is one of the key links in the global food security. That is why we insist that the grain agreement be open-ended and automatically extended for 120 days. Turkey and the UN share the same position. The aggressor’s attempts to shorten the extension period are a manipulation to further blackmail and escalate the global food crisis. We must prevent this.

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These days, the “energy visa-free regime” with the EU has also marked a year. At a critical moment for Ukraine, when the aggressor was advancing on all fronts, we quickly synchronized with the European energy grid, ENTSO-E. Ukraine has become part of the energy space of a united Europe.

We thwarted the enemy’s intentions to destroy the Ukrainian energy sector, gained access to the European energy market, and filled the budget in the summer by exporting electricity. And during the period of intense missile terror, on the contrary, Europe helped us – we imported electricity from the EU.

All this made us stronger and more resilient. Together with the EU, we won the battle for light and heat. We are now producing enough electricity to cover our consumption and are promptly fixing the problems with the distribution networks damaged by the enemy.

I thank Ukrainian power engineers for this year of heroism! And I thank our European partners for a reliable shoulder of support!

The main tasks for this year in the energy sector will be to restore and protect power facilities, decentralize the energy system, further strengthen integration with the European energy space, and increase our import and export capabilities.

We have the support of the EU at all stages. Thanks to the European Commission, we are already implementing a program to exchange old incandescent light bulbs for LED lamps. We are also waiting for the first batch of solar panels that will help diversify our generation.

This week, during a meeting with the delegation of the Energy Community Secretariat, we agreed on the organization’s participation in the restoration of the Ukrainian energy sector. The signed memorandum provides for support of priority projects for the construction and reconstruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Last year, Ukraine also obtained an “economic visa-free regime” with the EU. Now we have an important signal from the European Commission to extend it. The EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council has proposed to extend the suspension of import duties, quotas and trade remedies on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year. In 2022, Ukrainian exports to Europe amounted to almost USD 28 billion. More than half of our foreign trade is now focused on the European market. Therefore, the extension of the “economic visa-free regime” that we are working on is a significant support for Ukrainian business and an important step for the recovery of our economy.

The Government continues to rely on the support of the private sector to make our economy grow again. That is why deregulation is becoming one of the key reforms in the economic sphere. The Government’s Interagency Working Group on Deregulation is successfully reviewing regulatory instruments and removing unnecessary barriers.

Today, we are abolishing a number of regulations in the field of intellectual property, waste management, and biofuel production. This will allow businesses to work more efficiently and spend less time on unnecessary bureaucracy.

Today, we are also approving the Procedure for the provision of services by career advisors and employer relations consultants. This is part of a major reform of the State Employment Service. As of today, 146,000 unemployed people are registered in Ukraine, and our task is to help them find a job.

We are holding our economic front. We are working for the victory and recovery of Ukraine.

Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!