At the invitation of Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU, a delegation from COSAC, a platform for cooperation between the European affairs committees of EU parliaments, arrived in Kyiv. This is the second time that the COSAC delegation has travelled outside the European Union, and the second time that it has visited Ukraine at the invitation of the Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU.
On the first day of their visit, European parliamentarians paid tribute to those who died as a result of the russian war. They held a series of meetings with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, his First Deputy Oleksandr Korniienko, representatives of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU from various factions, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Hvozdar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevhen Perebyinis, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva, representatives of anti-corruption bodies and civil society organisations.
The key topics of the meetings were military support for Ukraine, in particular through the Safe mechanism (Security Action for Europe). This is a new defence initiative of the European Union, adopted in May this year. It opens up the possibility for Ukraine to fully integrate into the European defence-industrial complex. It also opens up the possibility for Ukraine to fully integrate into the European defence-industrial complex. This is also through the PURL mechanism, a US and NATO initiative to accelerate the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which is intended to ensure a stable supply of weapons and air defence systems. There was much talk about investment in the Ukrainian defence industry, in particular, based on the Danish model. After all, this is not only about providing Ukraine with rapid assistance in the form of weapons, but also about strengthening Ukraine's defence in the long term.
Special attention was paid to Ukraine's European integration course. During the meeting with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, his first deputy, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, they discussed the need to open the first negotiating cluster with the EU, ‘Fundamentals’. They expressed hope that the European side would still be able to overcome Hungary's veto and that negotiations on this cluster would be opened before the end of this year, during Denmark's presidency of the EU Council. Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka reported on Ukraine's efforts to establish a substantive, constructive dialogue with Hungary at the bilateral level.
The COSAC delegation members, for their part, stressed that reforms in Ukraine are an integral part of the European integration process. In particular, it is essential for the country to be able to meet the Copenhagen criteria – the rule of law, effective efforts to combat corruption, and the protection of rights and freedoms. They stressed that Ukraine must send a clear signal that the reform process is irreversible. For their part, the countries of the European Union are ready to help Ukraine work towards achieving full compatibility with EU member states and succeeding on the path to European integration.
During the meeting with the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada, issues of historical justice were also discussed, in particular, the recognition of the Holodomor and the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 as genocide. Preparations for the IV Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform were also discussed.
The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, is convinced that this second visit by the COSAC delegation to Ukraine was an important step towards deepening cooperation and mobilising additional support for Ukraine among EU member states. Most importantly, it allowed the heads of EU parliamentary committees to see for themselves what is happening in Ukraine and to realise that the security and future of Europe directly depend on Ukraine's stability.
