Economy, European integration on agenda of PM’s meeting with EU Commissioner

That’s according to the government press service, Ukrinform reports.

The parties focused on the issues of financial support for Ukraine as the Head of Government expressed gratitude for today’s EUR 1 billion tranche of EU aid.

Denys Shmyhal emphasized that the EU’s leadership in the ERA initiative — a mechanism for utilizing the proceeds from frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine — is critical for the country. According to the prime minister, the funds Ukraine receives under th initiative are already being allocated to cover defense needs and important budget expenditures.

“Our main goal is to seize all frozen assets, which will become the main source of the country’s reconstruction. This year, the Government is focusing on creating a confiscation mechanism,” the Prime Minister said.

The meeting also discussed strengthening economic cooperation and European integration. Denys Shmyhal emphasized that the process of screening Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU Acqui is currently underway.

“Ukraine has successfully implemented all necessary measures to advance the European integration process. We are actively working toward opening all six clusters within the framework of the negotiation process with the EU. This is a key priority,” he emphasized.

The sanctions policy toward Russia was also on the meeting’s agenda. The Prime Minister underlined the importance of this effective tool and expressed hope for the continuation and strengthening of restrictions.

In turn, Valdis Dombrovskis assured Shmyhal of further support for Ukraine. He noted that yesterday the European Commission proposed the EUR 150 billion SAFE initiative, which provides that the Ukrainian defense industry will be involved on an equal footing with the defense-industrial complex of EU member states.