Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva met with a delegation of the European Parliament to the EU–Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, headed by its Chair, Pekka Toveri.
Ihor Zhovkva thanked the European Parliament for its unwavering support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression and on the path toward full membership in the European Union.
The main topic of the meeting was the progress of the negotiation process on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and the need to open the negotiating clusters as soon as possible.
“The European Parliament has always been several steps ahead of other European Union institutions in supporting Ukraine. We highly value this principled position. At the same time, today it is the member states that must make the political decisions that will allow us to maintain the pace of the negotiation process. We expect that a decision to open the remaining five negotiating clusters will be made in the near future,” Ihor Zhovkva emphasized.
Special attention was paid to Ukraine’s compliance with the criteria for European Union membership.
“If the Copenhagen criteria included a security criterion, Ukraine would already be a champion of integration,” the Deputy Head of the Office of the President noted.
Pekka Toveri emphasized that today it is impossible to ensure Europe’s security without Ukraine’s help. He noted our country’s contribution to the defense of the European continent and expressed support for Ukraine’s continued progress toward full membership in the European Union.
At the end of the meeting, on behalf of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ihor Zhovkva presented Pekka Toveri with the Order of Merit, III class.
The Copenhagen criteria are the conditions defined by the European Union that every candidate country must meet to join. They include stable democratic institutions, the rule of law, respect for human rights and the protection of minority rights, and a functioning market economy.