Zelenskyi spoke with European Commission President about vaccine, fight against corruption and “Crimean Platform”

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi had a telephone conversation with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The press service of the Office of the President reports.

The conversation focused on measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic spreading and to unite the efforts of European countries to provide the public with wide access to quality certified vaccines.

"Ukraine has recently come out of the lockdown. Now we register up to five thousand patients a day, which is almost three times less than quarantine. Nevertheless, the coronavirus pandemic remains a serious challenge for both Ukraine and the world," Volodymyr Zelenskyi said.

The President of Ukraine thanked for the initiative of the European Union to establish a mechanism for transporting the vaccine to partner countries.

"The supply of vaccines isn't only a matter of health and life of Ukrainians, but also of politics and geopolitics," the head of state said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi also informed her that the vaccines allocated within the COVAX fund would not be enough to vaccinate the critically needed population in 2021. In this regard, he called for the more active involvement of the European Commission in Ukraine's negotiation process with manufacturers.

"Ukrainians don't differ from Europeans in striving to be healthy. Speeding up the supply of vaccines can be a powerful signal that the European Union is happy to see Ukraine at the same table not only when everything is good but also in difficult situations," said the President of Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that during 2021, both the European Union and neighboring countries would receive sufficient doses of the vaccine.

"Now the entire world is experiencing an unprecedented wave of simultaneous vaccination," the President of the European Commission said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi thanked the European Union for providing Ukraine with the first tranche of macro-financial assistance of 600 million euros, which took place in December 2020.

"It has helped maintain our macro-financial stability," he said.

The President of the European Commission stressed that the EU was working to ensure that Ukraine received the second part of the tranche as soon as possible, 600 million euros.

The parties discussed the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities to implement anti-corruption reforms. Volodymyr Zelenskyi informed Ursula von der Leyen about the beginning of the reform of the Security Service of Ukraine, the establishment of the Bureau of Economic Security, and the toughening of responsibility for the unreliable declaration of income.

The President of the European Commission thanked the President of Ukraine for his personal efforts in implementing anti-corruption policy.

In the context of the development of bilateral relations, Volodymyr Zelenskyi thanked Ursula von der Leyen for her letter, prepared jointly with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, to develop the agreements reached following the Ukraine-EU Summit in October 2020. He also stressed the importance of the next meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, which will take place in early February in Brussels. The Ukrainian party expects that during the event they will launch a dialogue to update the free trade area parameters and strengthen the sectoral provisions of the Association Agreement.

They paid particular attention to the signing of the Agreement on the Common Aviation Area of the European Union with Ukraine. The President of Ukraine expressed hope that the EU could complete work on the document soon. The conclusion of this important agreement is in the common interest of Ukraine and the European Union.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi also acquainted Ursula von der Leyen with the initiative to launch the "Crimean Platform" and invited her to take part in person in the inaugural summit to be held in August 2021 in Kyiv.