President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in a meeting of the European Commission Board via video.
In his speech, the Head of State expressed gratitude to all representatives of the EU and EU member states for the support provided to Ukraine: defence, sanctions, humanitarian and financial, in particular for the long-term assistance programme - the European Commission's initiative to create a financial instrument for Ukraine.
"Ukrainian faith in the EU has always been one of the strongest on the continent. Ukrainians have always been and remain optimistic about the EU, and our optimism is confirmed by the fact that the EU stands firmly by its values and helps us to defend freedom and independence," the President noted.
He noted that now is a historic chance for the whole of Europe to eliminate the lack of geopolitical certainty, which is a source of crises and problems.
The President emphasised that Ukraine had been moving as fast as possible to implement the seven recommendations of the European Commission in order to enable the adoption of a political decision on the beginning of negotiations on EU membership this year.
"We have done a lot, and I would say much more than could be expected from a country that has been subjected to full-scale aggression. However, Ukraine is not asking for political discounts, but demonstrates the necessary political pace, because we share the approach that decisions should be based on the individual achievements of countries that seek to become members of the European Union," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to the Head of State, the country continues to reform the constitutional judiciary, within the framework of which the implementation of the law on the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court has begun, which was adopted taking into account the conclusions of the Venice Commission. The State Anti-Corruption Programme has also been approved, the existing anti-corruption architecture has been strengthened, and a law has been passed to restore electronic declarations of officials and their verification during martial law.
In addition, according to the President, the adoption of the law on politically exposed persons should be a significant step towards harmonising legislation with FATF requirements. He also noted the importance of adopting antitrust legislation, protecting the state from abuses inspired by oligarchs, and harmonising media laws with EU standards. Ukraine has also adopted legislative changes to protect the rights of national communities.
"It is a top priority for Ukraine to be ready for a political decision to start negotiations on EU membership this year. I hope that it is the same for the European Union. We have laid a solid foundation for this. The goal now is special. If we can get rid of grey geopolitical zones, we must do it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, for her part, emphasised support for Ukraine's accession to the European community.
"I want to send you a strong message - we want you to be with us in the European family. We are preparing the 12th package of sanctions, and we will discuss various issues related to frozen assets. It is politically impossible to accept that Russia is destroying Ukraine's infrastructure every day, and our taxpayers have to pay for the reconstruction of this infrastructure. Therefore, the frozen assets should be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine," said the President of the European Commission.
Ursula von der Leyen noted that today Ukraine is not only fighting Russian aggression, but also implementing important reforms.
"I am amazed that you can fight full-scale aggression while deeply reforming Ukraine. It is really impressive. History will show that you are doing the right thing and you are on the right side," the President of the European Commission stressed.
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell noted that despite the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, the EU would continue to pay significant attention to Ukraine.
"Our attention to Ukraine will not change with the crisis in the Middle East. I spoke with Minister Kuleba about these issues. We talked about short-term and long-term security commitments - ammunition, air defence. We also want to provide assistance in demining and all the things that are necessary to strengthen Ukraine's resilience," said Josep Borrell.