On 21–22 April, committee meetings of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly took place in the capital of Moldova.
The Ukrainian parliamentary delegation, led by First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget Ivan Krulko, held a number of strategic meetings, calling on international partners for the full economic isolation of russia and strengthened nuclear safety.
The central event of the visit to Chisinau was a series of meetings with the top leadership of the Republic of Moldova — President Maia Sandu, Speaker of Parliament Igor Grosu, and Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov.
“We view the EU path of the Eastern Partnership countries not as a competition, but as a joint movement of partners. The current ‘window of opportunity’ has opened at a very high cost, and we must use it to build a new architecture of a secure and united Europe,” Ivan Krulko emphasised during the meetings.
At a joint meeting of the political and energy committees of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, a draft report on enhancing the efficiency of energy flows was presented, including developments in hydrogen markets and renewable energy. The strategic document was co-authored by a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, Sofiia Fedyna.
In turn, Chair of the Subcommittee on Coordination of European Union Technical Assistance Programmes and Cooperation with Euratom within the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, Pavlo Melnyk, placed particular emphasis on security challenges. He drew a parallel between the 1986 nuclear disaster and the current act of terrorism by russia — the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Pavlo Melnyk called on the national parliaments of the Assembly’s member states to officially honour the memory of the Chernobyl disaster liquidators ahead of the 40th anniversary of the nuclear catastrophe. “The occupation of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants has become an unprecedented act of nuclear blackmail in human history. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is currently being held hostage by the occupiers — a global threat that keeps an entire continent on edge,” the subcommittee chair said.
Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Sectoral Cooperation and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between Ukraine and the EU within the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, Dmytro Liubota, speaking at the economic committee meeting, emphasised the need for a strong response to the genocide of the Ukrainian nation and the introduction of secondary sanctions.
“Those who profit from Ukrainian blood must become outcasts alongside the aggressor. We are not asking merely for sanctions, but for the complete economic isolation of the terrorist state. Every source of funding for the war of aggression must be cut off permanently,” he stressed.
In addition, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Digital Transformation, Volodymyr Ariev, informed colleagues about the work of the parliamentary opposition and the current situation in Ukraine amid the full-scale invasion.
As part of the visit, Ukrainian parliamentarians also held a working meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova, Paun Rohovei. Ivan Krulko and Dmytro Liubota discussed with the Ambassador the protection of Ukrainian refugees in Moldova and the deepening of humanitarian cooperation.
The participation of the delegation in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly once again confirmed that Ukraine is an integral part of the European security and economic space, and that its partners are ready to consolidate efforts for a shared future within the EU.