President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko addressed the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with an extraordinary message "On the internal and external situation of Ukraine"

The President of Ukraine particularly stressed changes Ukraine has faced during the last year.  

"Challenges and threats Ukraine has never faced since the World War II and the post-war massacre of the Ukrainian national movement… At the same time, a unique chance given by the responsible Ukrainian people to our state after electing the pro-European constitutional majority to the Ukrainian Parliament for the first time - these colossal opportunities have never been available for us before. This is a complete characteristic of the internal and external situation. Our task can be explained with a simple formula: to avert the threat and use the chance", said Petro Poroshenko.

The President of Ukraine also said "we are living in war conditions. It certainly impedes our plans. For example, how can we convince investors to invest money in the country which is in a state of war? How can we ensure sustainability if a great part of the economy has been physically destroyed? We must find the answers to these questions together", and ensured that his peace plan as well as the Minsk protocol and the Minsk memorandum based on it will bring peace to the Donbas in the end.

Petro Poroshenko emphasized that the key internal challenge is corruption. "I would like to mention poverty in this context as well, but it is clear that the root cause of the extremely low level of life of the majority of Ukrainians is total corruptness of the state apparatus. Incompetence and inefficiency of public administration. Mercantile, so to say, unprincipled corruption is much stronger ally of our external enemy than his ideologically motivated fifth column.

Unemployment, poverty and social injustice are now threatening not just with the growth of protest mood in society. They can and will be used by the enemy to destabilize the situation in the country", said the Head of State.

The President of Ukraine described unique opportunities the Revolution of Dignity has opened to the whole country.

In his words, "the majority of Ukrainians finally supports the Association Agreement with the EU and the idea of joining the European Union. Dear colleagues, we must use this chance. The number of those who stand for the Ukrainian language to be a single state language has reached the record level. In the course of the last year, due to the actions of Russia, the number of those who support the idea of joining NATO has also been increased by 3-4 times. Still, this issue remains the last one among the so-called complicated topics on which in several regions the rate of polar opinions stays equal".

According to the President of Ukraine, "in general, mainly artificial division of Ukraine on geographic, ethnic, linguistic and religious grounds has finally been overcome and this division will stay in the past. Ukraine has never been as united as it is now!"

Petro Poroshenko then claimed that the creation of political preconditions for changes has been finished with the early elections. "Fair, transparent, democratic elections have renewed the Parliament by more than a half for the first time in our history. It is a pleasure for me to see among you those who have a great political and reformatory experience, who have overcome hard challenges. But I am especially pleased to see such a big number of new young faces, for you are the fresh blood the Ukrainian policy required! Welcome to the Verkhovna Rada!

I sincerely congratulate you on being elected the people's deputies and taking the oath. I call for our joint work for the benefit of Ukraine! As President, I am convinced: we will succeed", he said.

He mentioned in his speech "the record breaking forming of coalition and possible quick but responsible forming of the Government". "It is important that politicians haven't been sharing the posts when forming the coalition. They have been elaborating a detailed plan of fundamental changes in the country. I was pleased to watch that. These large-scale transformations must become the next phase of our Revolution. They must gradually result in the efficient reformation", stressed Petro Poroshenko.

The President of Ukraine stressed that he is a reliable ally of the Parliament in the implementation of reformatory, pro-European coalition agreement and he is convinced that "it is only with efficient cooperation that we will manage to achieve the results desired by the people of Ukraine and I will do everything possible for the coordinated work of Verkhovna Rada, the President and the Cabinet of Ministers".  

Petro Poroshenko briefly outlined some crucial issues of our common strategy that concern the national security in its broader sense. He noted that "the worst situation is in our judicial system".

"As the President, I have no right to put pressure on specific courts and I will not do so. But the voters have not only allowed, bur also ordered us to change the system. That's why the judicial reform should be one of the first. I will submit respective draft laws as extremely urgent. For only those who have troubles with the law can feel safe and secured with such courts. And law-abiding citizens should stay away from these courts. There is no truth in there", stressed Petro Poroshenko.

The reformation of all law enforcement bodies, first of all the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General's Office, is definitely tangent to the judicial reform. He expressed gratitude that this chapter was clearly laid down in the coalition agreement.

Petro Poroshenko reminded that the old Parliament adopted the new law on public prosecution which would soon enter into force as well as the law on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

He suggested appointing a foreign person as the Chairperson of the given Bureau. This person will have one advantage – absence of ties in the Ukrainian political elite.

The President of Ukraine claimed he thoroughly analyzed the majority of decisions on deregulation adopted in recent years. "Real deregulation and tax reform must launch the economy and resume the process of growth. We will definitely succeed in that", he said.

According to the President of Ukraine, defence reform must also become part of tectonic change: army, intelligence, military industrial complex.

Petro Poroshenko claimed that non-alignment status of Ukraine proclaimed in 2010 couldn't guarantee our security and territorial integrity and we must abolish it.

"This stand has led to serious losses. That's why we've decided to return to the course of NATO integration. We are enhancing cooperation with NATO, working over operational compatibility with the armies of NATO members, focusing on NATO standards in the defense-security sector", claimed Petro Poroshenko.  

In his speech, the President of Ukraine also said that democracy is also an instrument of ensuring the national security. Parliamentary coalition is in fact the constitutional majority. It consists of 302 deputies. We haven't had such a coalition before.

Petro Poroshenko noted that he is the President of the whole country, the President of all Ukrainians.  Thus, he must listen to the opposition as well. "We must respect all these manifestations. It is also related to the issue of language. The main difference between Ukraine and Russia is not in language, but in political culture. It has been demonstrated in the course of the elections and the Revolution of Dignity. This difference is in the type of relations between the authorities and the public, in the attitude to freedom and democracy”, he said.

In his words, the abovementioned changes do not exclude the support of the Ukrainian language and the measures called in the European political culture "positive discrimination". It is a form of supporting those who have been subjected to persecution and harassment for a long time. The Ukrainian language is an important consolidating factor of society and the state.

According to the President of Ukraine, the issue of national security is also related to the problems of church. It is an extremely sensitive area that needs careful approach; sharp movements are not allowed here. But with recent experience we will never forget that sometimes preparation to absorb the country begins with the shared prayers or religious processions. We all should remember the love to the Homeland, love to Ukraine and I'm sure it must be our first priority.

Petro Poroshenko finished his speech saying "our politics must be aimed at gradual movement from the country of the Revolution of Dignity to the Country of Dignity itself".  

"We have no time to talk. The Ukrainian people can confirm that. The coalition has been formed! There is a political will to make changes. There is a clear plan of actions and the coalition agreement. We have a chance to fulfill it. So let's start working, for us to be able to apply for membership in the EU in 5 years", stressed the President of Ukraine.