2023 will be important for Ukraine’s accession to EU – UA foreign minister

The new year 2023 and these winter months will be crucial to Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

Rubryka reports, referring to the briefing of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, which was broadcast on Facebook.

"This year and already these winter months will be crucial on the way to Ukraine's membership in the EU. I received an invitation from Josep Borrell to participate in the first meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU in 2023, which will take place in January. Preparation for the Ukraine summit will be an important topic on February 3," the foreign minister emphasized.

Kuleba said an important summit topic would be the pre-accession negotiations of Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

Kuleba said an important summit topic would be the pre-accession negotiations of Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

Also, as the minister noted, the summit will discuss the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula. In addition, the strengthening of sanctions against russia will be addressed.

As the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said earlier, we will remind you that now is the time to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

We should add that, according to the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanyshina, Ukraine, together with the EU, will begin to evaluate our country's steps on the way to the European Union at the beginning of March and that Ukraine's accession to the European Union is in no way related to the issue of completion war against russian aggression or de-occupation of Ukrainian territories.

However, Stefanyshyna did not specify which elements of the war could drag on until the time when the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU moved to a practical level.

However, she noted that earlier, Ukraine and the EU concluded a political trade agreement despite the presence of occupied territories.

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, stated that the Ukrainian parliament has fully implemented all the recommendations of the European Commission, which are necessary for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada listed all the laws and necessary decisions that Ukraine needed as a candidate for joining the European Union and which the Verkhovna Rada had adopted over the past six months. Among them is the reform of the Constitutional Court, the law on media, the law on national minorities, laws on combating money laundering, etc.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also emphasized that Ukraine hopes to deploy the Patriot as soon as possible. Preparations for the transfer of these systems have already begun.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba: "Last year, we ended with a revolutionary decision to provide Ukraine with American Patriot systems, which was agreed upon by the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky and Joseph Biden. We expect the Patriots to be deployed as soon as possible. Preparations for the transfer of these systems are already started."