Commissioner Kos in Uzhhorod, Lviv and Kyiv to support Ukraine’s EU accession progress
Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos concluded a three-day visit to Ukraine. The visit coincided with the conclusion of the screening process – a milestone highlighting Ukraine’s progress toward EU membership and included meetings with the government and the parliament to discuss the next steps in Ukraine’s reform path.
In Uzhhorod, Commissioner Kos visited last Monday schools for students from the Hungarian and Slovak minorities in Zakarpattia. She also met with representatives of the Council of National Minorities of Ukraine to discuss the latest steps taken by national authorities to strengthen minority rights – including the Action Plan on National Minorities adopted last May. Commission Kos said: “The protection of minorities is in the EU’s DNA. European integration brought protection of minorities across our Union. Through accession negotiations we want to build on this and bring strong protection of minorities in Ukraine too”.
Commissioner Kos then travelled on the newly inaugurated railway from Uzhhorod to Chop, built to Europe’s track width standard. This landmark project strengthened cross-border connectivity, trade, and investment, and paved the way for gradual access to the EU Single Market.
In Lviv, Commissioner Kos engaged with regional representatives to discuss decentralisation reforms. She addressed the public at the Ukrainian Resilience Week. She stated “Bringing Ukraine into the EU requires hard reforms, successful investments and the build-up of strong democratic institutions. It requires trust of citizens that this path will bring a better future. This work starts at the local level”. She also met with European investors in Ukraine to discuss how the country’s EU accession process creates new business opportunities, and also visited an EU-supported company, led by a veteran, that promotes social inclusion
Together with the EU’s Special Envoy for Ukrainians Ylva Johansson, Commissioner Kos also visited the Unbroken rehabilitation centre, an EU-funded housing and prosthetics facility for Ukrainians displaced or affected by Russia’s war of aggression. The Commissioner said “I have seen the sacrifice of your nation. Ukrainians need the reconstruction of lifelines for those who fought on the frontlines: housing, quality jobs, and opportunities. The EU is providing funding for that.”
In Lviv, Commission Kos attended the Lviv National Philharmonic together with Acting Minister of Culture Tetyana Berezhna, listening to music of composer Valentyn Sylvestrov. In opening words she emphasised the vital role of culture and free artistic expression in a democratic society saying: “Every act of creativity is an act of resistance. Your culture is your strength. Its very existence is why Ukraine is under attack. But it endures. It cannot be silenced.”
In Kyiv, Commissioner Kos, together with Denmark’s Minister of European Affairs Marie Bjerre, joined President Zelenskyy at the Defenders’ Day commemorations. She held meetings with Prime Minister Svyrydenko and with and Parliament to discuss the next steps of EU accession and key reforms to advance on rule of law, public administration, and democratic institutions.
This was followed by the signing of the EU-guaranteed loan agreement between the EIB and Naftogaz, which strengthens Ukraine's energy resilience ahead of the coming winter and incentivises Naftogaz’s shift towards renewables and decarbonisation.
In meetings with the leadership and the staff of anti-corruption institutions (NABU, SAPO, HACC, ESBU, NACP) the Commissioner expressed support to the work of these institutions and highlighted the centrality of the rule of law and anti-corruption reforms to the EU accession path.
The visit concluded with an EU accession panel at the Kyiv School of Economics.
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