Meeting in Brussels, European and Ukrainian parliamentarians renewed their call for sustained support to Ukraine and working towards starting EU accession negotiations with Kyiv this year.
At the fifteenth regular meeting of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, which took place in Brussels on Wednesday 5 July and Thursday 6 July, MEPs and Ukrainian parliamentarians held extensive discussions about the consequences of and joint responses to the ongoing Russian war of aggression. The committee is a platform for European and Ukrainian lawmakers to discuss the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, cooperation and relevant political priorities for both the EU and Ukraine. Co-chaired by Vadym Halaichuk from the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada and Witold Waszczykowski (ECR, Poland) from the European Parliament, the exchanges focussed in particular on sanctions and efforts to ensure international justice and accountability for the crimes committed by Russian forces on Ukrainian soil.
Participants also discussed Ukraine’s intensive reform agenda and expressed firm support for starting EU accession negotiations with Kyiv by the end of the year.
The parliamentarians gathered for the Parliamentary Association Committee voiced their determination to boost the parliamentary dimension of current bilateral relations. This, they stressed, is essential to support the transition from the current EU-Ukraine Association Agreement framework towards a pre-accession agenda and to accelerate Ukraine’s legal alignment with EU legislation.
The Parliamentary Association Committee also adopted a joint statement and recommendations on Thursday 6 July.
