Together with the European Solidarity faction, we held a friendly meeting with the Ambassador of Ireland to Ukraine, Jonathan Conlon.
Ireland has just started its presidency of the EU Council, so we discussed which priorities of this period are most important for Ukraine.
We talked in particular about whether it will be possible to open the remaining negotiation clusters for EU accession this year. I emphasized that this process should be swift, correspond to Ukraine’s real merits and achievements on the path to membership, but at the same time proceed in parallel with the reform of the institutions and policies of the European Union itself.
We also talked about Ireland’s role in strengthening the EU’s position in the negotiations on ending the war and establishing a just and lasting peace.
We also discussed the content and prospects of adopting the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, as well as new packages of defense and financial-economic assistance to Ukraine from the EU.
Special attention was paid to how the change in the Government of Ukraine will affect the reforms necessary for EU accession. Together with faction colleagues, we called for keeping a special focus on reforms in Ukraine — protection of democracy, fight against corruption, freedom of speech, independence of the judiciary, and rule of law, including effective work of parliament, multiparty system, and respect for the rights of the opposition.
