A Ukrainian part meeting of the Ukraine-EU Parliamentary Association Committee occurred in hybrid mode on the 20th of February. During the meeting, they discussed the issue of strengthening financial and military support for Ukraine from the European Union, considering the review of foreign policy priorities of the new US administration. The discussion also examined strengthening sanctions against russia, holding it accountable for the crime of aggression, as well as the restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine.
Co-chair of the PCA from the Ukrainian side, Vadym Halaichuk, noted that this meeting is the first in the renewed group. "For the first time, we gathered in the renewed group of the Ukrainian part of the Parliamentary Association Committee to prepare for the visit of our European colleagues in a couple of weeks and the holding of a joint meeting of the Parliamentary Association Committee," said Vadym Halaichuk.
Olga Bohonska, Director of the EU and NATO Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, spoke about the priorities of cooperation with the European Union regarding financial and military support for Ukraine. According to her, it is important to call on the European Union and its member states to unblock support for Ukraine within the framework of the European Peace Fund since the blocked fund is due to the position of Hungary. It is also crucial to develop a financial strategy for supporting Ukraine after 2027 with European colleagues and work to ensure that 220 billion euros of frozen russian assets will finance the restoration of Ukraine. Ukraine expects that the next 16th package of EU sanctions against russia will be released on the 24th of February, by the third anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion.
Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Oleksandr Ilkov informed the meeting participants about the current state of the negotiation process of Ukraine with the European Union and about the fulfilment of the necessary prerequisites by Ukraine for opening negotiation clusters this year. According to him, Ukraine, as of today, has completed all bilateral meetings on the key first Fundamentals cluster. At the end of January, the European Commission prepared and submitted a screening report on the first cluster for consideration by the member states. "We are currently holding bilateral meetings on the second negotiation cluster. It is the internal market, and we have also started negotiation meetings on the sixth cluster - external relations", - said Oleksandr Ilkov.
Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka reported on sectoral cooperation with the European Union, particularly in trade, agriculture, transport and energy.