On Wednesday 12 April, at the first meeting between the parliamentary committees of the European Parliament and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, reaffirmed that Ukraine’s future is in the European Union and expressed her hope that accession negotiations could start “already this year”.
The European Commission is invited to present an oral report in April on Ukraine’s progress towards EU membership, followed by a written report in the autumn on the basis of which the European Council could take a decision.
Speaking from Kyiv by video conference, the President of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that despite the difficult conditions linked to Russia’s military aggression, the Ukrainian authorities were working on a daily basis to create the conditions for the opening of accession negotiations as early as 2023.
This process makes us stronger as a government and as a Ukrainian society, as well as in our fight against the aggressor, he said, praising the European Parliament’s unwavering support since the beginning of the “painstaking” rapprochement process. On the same day, he approved the creation of a support office within the Verkhovna Rada for the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with the Community acquis.
“As representatives of the people, you have the role and responsibility to explain to Ukrainian citizens the need for reforms, often far-reaching and painful”, Ms Metsola said.
MEPs expressed their willingness to deepen institutional links and to offer more support and expertise to their Ukrainian counterparts, including regarding the approximation of Ukrainian legislation with EU law and post-war reconstruction. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)