Distinguished colleagues, fellow Ukrainians!

We are starting a regular meeting of the Government.

Last June, we were granted candidate status for EU membership and received 7 recommendations from the European Commission on reforms to be implemented to take the next step towards EU membership.

Today we are adopting the State Target Programme "Unity in Diversity". Its goal is to create conditions for the realisation of the rights and opportunities of national minorities and indigenous peoples.

After the approval of this programme, we can say that at the Governmental level we have fully completed the implementation of the seven recommendations of the European Commission.

What have we managed to do in general during this time?

I will now briefly go through the key points, and then Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna will present a detailed report on the work done.

First, the reform of the Constitutional Court has started. We are working in constant consultation with the Venice Commission.

Secondly, the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges have been rebooted.

Thirdly, the institutional capacity and independence of anti-corruption bodies is being strengthened. One of the most recent examples is the Government's draft law on increasing the independence of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

Recently, new heads of NABU and SAPO have been selected through open competitions. The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) has recognised Ukraine's significant progress in preventing corruption.

Fourth, the Government has developed a legal framework to combat money laundering in line with FATF standards.

Fifth, we have implemented the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the implementation of the anti-oligarchic law.

Sixth, legislation on media and advertising has been put into effect.

Seventh, the necessary bylaws have been developed to enforce the new law on national minorities.

Besides, the Government has conducted a so-called self-screening, analysing 28,000 acts of EU law for their implementation in the legal framework of Ukraine.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who has done this tremendous work in such a short time. But we will not stop. There is still a long and difficult way ahead.

We expect that in October, Ukraine will receive a positive assessment as part of the EU Enlargement Package Report. And then there will be a vote of the European Council, which will open the way to negotiations on our country's accession to the EU

The future of Ukraine is with Europe. And now the EU is supporting us to survive and win. In particular, we are grateful to our European partners for the next eighth tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.5 billion.

***

We are also sincerely grateful to our partners from the European Commission for their coordination in the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.

In the face of the Black Sea blockade by russia, during the near-daily attacks on our grain storage facilities and ports... In a situation where the support of our security and defence forces directly depends on our revenues, we need agricultural exports.

Talks about Ukrainian food harming Polish, Slovak or Hungarian farmers are speculation. Our grain does not significantly affect prices in neighbouring countries, while our farmers are in a much worse and more difficult situation than their Western counterparts.

We do not and have never had the goal of harming farmers in neighbouring countries. Ukraine is grateful for everything our partners do for us. We are grateful for the assistance with weapons, for sheltering Ukrainian women and children, for humanitarian and financial support.

In order to resolve the grain crisis, Ukraine presented its plan and the European Commission supported it. This is a mechanism for the verification and authorisation of four types of agricultural products.

On 28 September, the next meeting of the coordination platform for export and transit will take place, where the proposals will be finalised to trigger the plan as soon as possible.

Four countries have studied the Ukrainian plan, expressed their constructive comments and suggestions and expressed readiness for discussion. And only one country is against it. Unfortunately... We have neither a logical nor an economic explanation for this.

Today we are to adopt a resolution on the introduction of a mechanism for verification and approval of 4 groups of Ukrainian agricultural exports for five neighbouring countries.

We are already preparing to sign such documents with Romania and Bulgaria. These countries did not violate EU trade rules and the Association Agreement and did not impose unilateral restrictions. Thank you for this, Ukraine greatly appreciates the responsible partnership.

We are grateful to all the neighbours who are open to compromise. In turn, we are always ready to engage in a constructive dialogue. Our unity and solidarity are at stake in dialogue, not in political games, where the stakes are too high.

Once again, I call on everyone to be united in defending our common values, in defending our common future, in defending our common European home.

There are simply no other options. For any European country, the concern for future generations must necessarily outweigh the concern for future elections. We believe in this. And we are working together for a common result - victory over the aggressor, security, recovery and development.

Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!