“I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about Ukraine, our situation and needs with representatives of the European Parliament,” said the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko, following productive meetings with MEPs.

The First Deputy Speaker said that the Ukrainian delegation had received powerful signals of support and understanding for further cooperation.

In particular, the Ukrainian delegates held meaningful dialogues with the Chair of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe Garcia Perez, the Chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varghese, EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and a member of the Renew Group in the European Parliament, Vlad Gheorghe.

At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation headed by Oleksandr Korniienko met with the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. “We know what russian aggression is. And we are going through this path of fighting against evil, aggression and cruelty right now,” emphasized Oleksandr Korniienko. He emphasized that friends and partners, including Europe, help Ukraine in this: “We are grateful for the consistent support and provision of weapons to protect Ukrainian territories.”

The First Deputy Speaker invited the President of the European Parliament to visit Ukraine and take part in a meeting of the European Parliament and Verkhovna Rada committees. For her part, Roberta Metsola also spoke about russia’s aggression against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

During the meeting with the Vice-President of the European Parliament Ewa Kopacz, Oleksandr Korniienko expressed gratitude on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people for the help and support. “Our people are now in different countries, many of them in Poland. Both they and we want Ukrainians to return home, but for this we need more tanks, more weapons to de-occupy Ukrainian territories, so that everyone can come back to their free Ukraine,” said the First Vice Speaker. In addition, Oleksandr Korniienko noted: “We will say “thank you for the military aid batches” but at the same time we will emphasize that “we need more”. According to him, Ukraine has little time, and this is not in Ukraine’s favor. “We need to act faster on the battlefield – our partners need to resolve urgent issues concerning Ukraine faster,” the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine emphasized. The meeting also touched upon the problem of forced deportation of Ukrainian citizens, including children, to the territory of the russian federation.

For her part, the Vice-President of the European Parliament Ewa Kopacz emphasized that EU-Ukraine integration should continue unhindered, and that Europe’s support should be constantly growing.

During a meeting with Michael Gahler, the rapporteur for Ukraine in the European Parliament, Ukrainian delegates shared their achievements in the parliamentary reform of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Oleksandr Korniienko said that in July 2022, the Working Group on Legislative Proposals to Amend the Laws of Ukraine in the Field of Parliamentary Law presented its findings on: the relationship between the coalition and the opposition, the relationship between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the status of MPs, the code of ethics, increasing the level of institutional capacity of the system to ensure the work of the Parliament of Ukraine to the needs and challenges, and the legislative procedure. “In early February, we expect to present the developments on bringing the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in line with the Constitution of Ukraine,” said the First Vice Speaker, adding that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has already implemented parliamentary reforms and does not plan to stop there.

As part of the working visit, the Ukrainian delegation also took part in a discussion organized by United for Ukraine (U4U), an association of parliamentarians from the European Union member states, in the European Parliament. “United for Ukraine is one of the most effective platforms where Ukraine can defend and talk about its needs on the battlefield,” said Oleksandr Korniienko. He said that this applies not only to weapons, but also to the economic and energy fronts, where Ukraine is also fighting.

“"Ukrainians have chosen the path to the European Union, and we are now going through the European integration stage to achieve the goal,” the First Vice Speaker emphasized, adding that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is fulfilling the recommendations and tasks provided: “We are not waiting for better times, but are moving in the set vector right now.”

The meetings were also attended by members of the Ukrainian Parliament and the Ukrainian delegation: the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, the Head of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to the NATO PA Yehor Chernev, the Chairman of the Committee on Budget Roksolana Pidlasa, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Law Enforcement Halyna Mykhailiuk, and the Chairman of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.