Ukrainian parliament calls on EU countries to support talks on country's membership

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the Ukrainian parliament) has called on parliaments, governments of EU member states and EU institutions to decide on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership at the meeting of the European Council on 15 December.

Source: Ukrinform, citing Yaroslav Zhelezniak, Ukrainian MP, on Telegram, as reported by European Pravda

Details: A total of 292 members of parliament voted "in favour" of the appeal.

In particular, the Verkhovna Rada called to support Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union by adopting a decision to open relevant negotiations during the European Council meeting on 15 December.

In addition, the Verkhovna Rada urged the EU to continue to support the Ukrainian people in the struggle for the state sovereignty of Ukraine, the restoration of its territorial integrity within the internationally recognised borders, as well as pan-European values, democracy, pluralism, the right of nations to freely choose the path of their development and the rights and fundamental freedoms of a person and a citizen.

The Verkhovna Rada addressed the European parliaments to support Ukraine's macro-financial stability during Russia’s full-scale aggression by adopting the Ukraine Facility proposed by the European Commission.

The parliament called for an increase in the provision of military aid to Ukraine at the national level and within the framework of the European Peace Facility based on a coordinated assessment of the need to strengthen the state's defence capabilities as well as to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular the restoration of social, energy, transport and other infrastructure.

At the same time, the Verkhovna Rada called on the EU to continue pressure on Russia by adopting the following packages of restrictive measures, maximally expanding their effect on the political and economic life of Russia's political leaders, individuals and legal entities responsible for the resolution and conduct of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Background: 

• In a report published on 8 November, the European Commission recommended starting accession negotiations with Kyiv after completing four more steps. Among them were the adoption of changes regarding the rights of national minorities, an increase in the composition of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, and the expansion of the powers of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
• On 8 December, the corresponding laws were adopted and signed by the president.
• However, Hungary is expected to block the political decision to open negotiations. Viktor Orbán, as before, does not support the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

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