During his working visit to Brussels, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with representatives of various political groups
During a meeting with the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs David McAllister and the Chairman of the Committee on International Trade, Chairman of the Conference of the Chairs of the Committees of the European Parliament Bernd Lange, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine raised the issue of the current situation at the frontline and further defence and financial support for Ukraine.
"Ukrainian soldiers are liberating Ukrainian land step by step. Our defenders have held their positions and significantly weakened the russian aggressive potential," said Ruslan Stefanchuk, stressing that further defence support is critical for Ukraine, as russia's goal is to wage a war of attrition.
The parties also discussed financial support for Ukraine, strengthening sanctions pressure against the russian federation, and the President Zelenskyi's Peace Formula.
"It is extremely important to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union this year," Ruslan Stefanchuk said during a meeting with representatives of the European Parliament's Renew Europe political group.
At the same time, he expressed hope for a positive decision by the European Council. The parties discussed in detail all the legislative changes that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has already made and the reforms that are currently on the agenda.
"Today's signing of the updated Memorandum of Cooperation is the basis for our joint work in the near future," said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, adding that the document established the format of cooperation at the level of parliamentary committees.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also met with the President of the European Parliament's political group "Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats", Iratxe García Pérez.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine stressed that Ukraine is committed to further reforms and is determined to complete the legislative steps outlined in the European Commission's report as part of the enlargement package in the near future.
"Ukraine welcomes the new initiative of the EU side on the possible creation of a separate line within the European Peace Facility (EPF) for sustainable support of Ukraine's military needs for the period 2024-2027 in the amount of 20 billion euros," he said.
During a meeting with Manfred Weber, the Chairman of the European Parliament's political group "European People's Party", the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed hope that the dynamics of the contacts already established would only increase and friendly relations would be strengthened.
The parties also discussed the improvement of sanctions pressure against russia: "It is important to develop further steps to eliminate loopholes and better global coordination of sanctions circumvention."
During all the meetings, the parties also discussed the topic of interparliamentary cooperation and interaction at the level of committees of the Ukrainian and European Parliaments.