2022-07-26T20:16:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T06:58:21+03:00

Ukrainian news

EU Praises Ukraine's Implementation Of Association Agreement Before Start Of Full-Scale War

EU Praises Ukraine's Implementation Of Association Agreement Before Start Of Full-Scale War

The European Union has positively assessed Ukraine's implementation of the Association Agreement before the start of a full-scale war, on February 24.

This is stated in the message of the European Commission with reference to the EU report on the implementation of the agreement by Ukraine published on Tuesday, July 26, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

It is noted that the report outlines Ukraine's implementation of reforms within the framework of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU for the period from the publication of the last report, December 1, 2020, to the beginning of Russia's military aggression, February 24, 2022.

“Despite the challenges, including those coming from Russia, Ukraine has taken important steps in implementing the Association Agreement. The reforms undertaken to date in this framework allow Ukraine to embark with confidence on the new phase of its relations with the EU following the decision of the European Council on Ukraine's candidate country status. Russia's illegitimate and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine will not deflect the EU in supporting Ukraine's reform agenda,” said the High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell.

It is also noted that during the period covering the report, Ukraine was challenged due to Russia's destabilizing actions, the conflict in the east and the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite this, Ukraine continues to prioritize the association and further integration with the EU.

It is also reported that despite the aforementioned challenges, key reforms have gained new momentum.

The EU has highlighted some positive aspects of Ukraine's implementation of the agreement.

In the field of justice, the rule of law and the fight against corruption, key laws were adopted aimed at reforming the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and restoring the High Qualifications Commission of Judges (HQCJ).

Among the significant outstanding challenges is the urgent reform of the Constitutional Court and the completion of the selection of a new head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SACPO).

The EU notes the adoption of the law on the protection of whistleblowers, as well as the creation of the Bureau for Economic Security (BES).

The European Union also notes the adoption by the Government of Ukraine of a new strategy for reforming public administration in accordance with the principles of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European public administration principles, as well as the resumption of acceptance into public service on the basis of merit.

At the same time, government intervention in the management of the national Naftogaz of Ukraine joint-stock company caused concerns over the pursuit of State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) corporate governance reform.

Ukraine's financial sector remained profitable despite the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Nevertheless, the events at the National Bank of Ukraine caused concern about the independence of the central bank and banking supervision.

In the energy sector, the Ukrainian wholesale electricity market continued to work with some signs of distortion and market manipulation.

The strategic goal of connecting the Ukrainian power grid to the Continental European Network CEN (grid synchronisation) was the main priority for Ukraine in the electric power industry and made it possible to finally connect to the grid on March 16, 2022.

Overall, there has been little progress in environmental reforms in 2021. However, in the field of climate action, Ukraine adopted and submitted its nationally defined contribution to the Paris Agreement and the National Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change.

The dialogue started between Ukraine and the EU on the European Green Deal and the green transformation of Ukraine, and two expanded working sessions were held in Brussels and Kyiv.

Ukraine continues to achieve significant success in the field of digital transformation.

Thus, the law on the telecommunications regulator was adopted, which was an important step in approaching legislation to the EU.

"The 4th Report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism (COM(2021) 602 final) from 4 August 2021 concluded that overall, Ukraine continued to fulfil the visa liberalisation benchmarks and had taken action to address previous recommendations. However further efforts were needed inter alia in the areas of the fight against corruption, money laundering and the prevention and fight against organised crime,” the report said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on September 1, 2017, an association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union entered into force, which is aimed at deepening political, trade and cultural relations between the parties.