The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the “Economy that works for people” Valdis Dombrovskis
First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine welcomed the final approval of the Financial Instrument for Ukraine – Ukraine Facility, which provides support for Ukraine over four years in the amount of 50 billion euros. He noted that this is an important step of support from the European Union.
At the same time, Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed that it is very important for Ukraine to receive funding this year under the Ukraine Facility at the level of 2023. He also expressed hope that Ukraine will be able to receive the first tranche of EUR 4.5 billion in March.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. In particular, Ruslan Stefanchuk informed his counterpart about the adoption of the necessary laws in the Ukrainian Parliament: “We are looking forward to the immediate approval of the negotiation framework by the EU General Affairs Council.”
In addition, the parties raised the important issue of autonomous trade liberalisation measures granted by the EU to Ukraine starting in 2022 and the further extension of these measures, as they have a crucial positive effect on the Ukrainian economy.
At the same time, attention was also paid to the situation on the Ukrainian-Polish border and opportunities for unblocking the border crossing points. “Exporting products is a matter of economic stability and the country's survival in a full-scale war,” said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stressing that in January 2024, Ukrainian agricultural exports were mainly carried out by sea and amounted to 6.7 million tonnes. He said that at the same time, only 0.37 million tonnes of agricultural products transited through Poland, which is approximately 5% of the total.
In conclusion, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his gratitude to Valdis Dombrovskis, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the “Economy that works for people”, for his solidarity with Ukraine and personal leadership, in particular on the economic bloc.