04 November 2015, 16:23
The visa-free regime is not only a dream of the Ukrainians, but also an important step on the way to Ukraine's European integration, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groysman said at the Second Meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of Association between Ukraine and the European Union on Wednesday.
He said that on Thursday, the Parliament would consider a set of draft laws on liberalization of the visa regime with the EU countries.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada suggested that the Committee members/EU representatives visit the session hall during the consideration of those draft laws on Thursday.
Groysman said Ukraine was suffering a complicated period of consolidation of its independence.
According to the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada, the constitutional reform was underway in the context of decentralization of power and judicial reform.
"In conditions of emergence of young democracy, the Ukrainian Parliament is showing its ability to take important state-oriented decisions, in particular, the ones touching our European integration," Groysman said.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada reminded that local election had finished in Ukraine and thanked the European Parliament for sending its observers.
Groysman also highly appreciated the work of the Needs Assessment Mission of the European Parliament headed by Pat Cox acting in compliance with the Memo on mutual understanding between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament signed on July 3, 2015. He reminded that the Mission was working on the institutional reform of the Verkhovna Rada.
Groysman wished participants of the meeting fruitful and constructive work and noted that the Ukrainian Parliament highly appreciated the cooperation with the European Parliament and "will further do its best to prove Ukraine's reliability as a partner of the European Union."
The first inauguration meeting of the Committee took place in Brussels (Belgium) in February 2015. The meeting was opened by Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groysman and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.