The European Union commends Ukraine's efforts in reforming a number of areas and among those is the environment. This is contained in a joint statement on the outcomes of the 20th Ukraine-EU Summit, which took place on July 9 in Brussels.

In particular, the statement reads: "Good progress has been achieved on structural reforms in the field of decentralisation and public administration, as well as in public procurement and environmental reforms".

At that, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ostap Semerak announced that Ukraine and the European Union would deepen cooperation on environmental issues.

"Another good news is that during the summit the parties agreed to work on the further possibilities of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the field of environmental protection, in particular within the framework of the EU Life+ program and the activities of the European Environment Agency (EEA)", the Minister summarized.

As was reported earlier that on March 2, 2018, Ostap Semerak met with EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella in Brussels. Then the parties agreed to launch informal consultations on Ukraine's status as a partner in the European Environment Agency and Ukraine's participation in the EU Life+ program, which will allow communities to receive funding for local environmental projects.