Foreign Minister Kuleba: Ukraine ready to deepen cooperation within Eastern Partnership

10.04.2020 11:40

Ukrinform

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba welcomes the statement of the Visegrad Group foreign ministers on the future of the Eastern Partnership initiative and declared the readiness of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to deepen political association and economic integration into the EU.

This is underscored in the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in response to the statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Visegrad Group countries.

“Ukraine, together with Georgia and Moldova, is ready to facilitate opening a new ambitious chapter of the Eastern Partnership. We support the deepening of the process of political association and economic integration into the EU through the full and complete fulfilment of the potential of deep and comprehensive free trade areas (DCFTAs), in particular in the EU + Associated Partners format, access to the EU Single Market and enhanced sectoral integration,” Kuleba noted.

He stressed that Ukraine fully shared the approach according to which the Eastern Partnership should meet the expectations of all its participants, be based on common values, more active use of appropriate incentives, "more for more" principle, differentiation, as well as to support the European aspirations and the European choice of the associated partners.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine thanked the Visegrad Group for the decision to introduce a special V4EastSolidarity program of assistance to the Eastern Partnership member states in combating the consequences of coronavirus pandemic within the framework of activity of the International Visegrád Fund.

Kuleba also praised the support of the Visegrad Group for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

As noted in the joint statement of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia on the future of the Eastern Partnership, an extraordinary V4EastSolidarity program will be launched for the EaP countries under the International Visegrád Fund, with a simplified procedure dedicated to the practical strengthening of the health, social, economic resilience of the groups of citizens of the EaP countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.

The V4 countries also endorsed the vision of “gradual access of our partners to the EU Single Market up to the levels recognized as mutually beneficial for the partners and the EU Member States.”

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU), its Member States and its six Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.