Ukraine is already working on the tasks necessary to join the EU, in particular, on bringing our country's legislation in line with the European acquis. This was announced by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine on December 15.
"Yesterday, the leaders of the European Union member states made a truly historic decision. We are starting official negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. I am grateful to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has led us to establish such a powerful pro-Ukrainian coalition," the Head of Government said.
He stressed that the path to EU membership would require a huge amount of work, which our country had already begun.
According to Denys Shmyhal, about 28,000 EU legal acts have been analysed for compliance with Ukrainian legislation. According to preliminary estimates, more than 23,000 do not require implementation during the negotiation process, while 1,625 acts have already been fully implemented in Ukrainian legislation.
"2,739 acts are subject to further implementation. This is our scope of work for the coming years, which we shall do. We understand how to do it and when we will accomplish it. We have the expertise, teams, resources - we have it all. And most importantly, we have the will of the whole of Ukraine. All together, from parliamentarians and government officials to our communities, to society," the Prime Minister stressed.
In his statement, Denys Shmyhal also stressed that along with the work on regulatory acts, Ukraine continued to integrate into the single European market. In particular, the Ukrainian power grid has been fully integrated with the European one. The objectives for 2024 include the extension of transport and economic visa-free travel, as well as the early acquisition of industrial visa-free travel, which will facilitate access to European markets for Ukrainian producers. In addition, it is planned to implement EU roaming regulations to obtain a 'roaming visa-free regime'.
"We will integrate into all sectors right now. Without waiting and without delay. We will do it promptly," Denys Shmyhal stressed and added that Ukraine, which is a symbol of resilience and transformation, would be a strong and fully-fledged member of the European Union.