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Photo: Press Service of the President of Ukraine
Zelensky in Brussels
The government of Ukraine and the European Commission on Tuesday, October 6, signed three agreements that provide for Ukraine’s allocation of 60 million euros.
The 22nd Ukraine-EU summit has started in Brussels. By the way, this is the first summit of the EU with a country that is not a member of the pandemic stratum. The meeting took place in the context of conversations about Europe’s discontent with the actions of the Ukrainian authorities in the fight against corruption. There was even talk of canceling visa-free trips.
Correspondent.net Followed the progress of the summit.
Artillery preparation
Before the start of the summit, three MEPs addressed the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, with an open letter, in which they issued a warning to the politicians and oligarchs responsible for stopping the reforms. The letter was signed by Viola von Cramon, Michael Galer and Rasa Yuknevichen MEPs.
MEPs note that in the fight against corruption, the Ukrainian government inspired hope in the early days.
“The president himself predicted the Ukraine of his dreams, where” teachers receive real salaries and corrupt officials receive real prison terms. ” 17 months later, we cannot help but notice that the dream is cracking, and many of these cracks are in your party, Mr. Arachamia, “the letter says.
“We cannot help but see some of the members of the People’s Servant spreading disinformation from the Kremlin, coordinating well-organized attacks against independent institutions such as NBU, NABU and SAP. with the EU “, say the parliamentarians.
The authors of the letter recall Ukraine’s decline in rating perceptions of corruption, cessation of reforms, problems with the appointment of the leadership of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, termination of positions in cases of corrupt judges . All of this, according to them, threatens Ukraine with the loss of EU macro-financial assistance worth 1.2 billion euros.
MEPs also made a reservation regarding the visa-free regime.
“Regarding the visa-free regime, this is in no way an intention on the part of the EU to cancel this great achievement for the citizens of Ukraine and the citizens of the EU, but we still reserve the right to introduce a specific refusal of such freedoms for individual oligarchs, including politicians who abuse this right for the sake of their private illegal activities, “the letter says.
Everything is fine without a visa
But already at the summit, the EU made opposing statements, and the threats remained at the level of the views of individual MEPs.
The European Union has confirmed that there are no threats to the visa-free regime with Ukraine and hopes that its full operation will resume after the coronavirus pandemic.
“We receive assurances that nothing threatens the visa-free regime and that it will be restored after the pandemic,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a joint press conference with European Council President Charles Michel.
The same EU position was confirmed in a joint statement after the Ukraine-EU summit on October 6.
In the document, the parties welcomed the continued successful implementation of the visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens and stressed the importance of continuing to meet the criteria for visa liberalization and accelerate the corresponding reform efforts.
In the document, the EU gave a clear signal that there is no talk of any suspension of the visa-free regime with Ukraine.
“We hope to restore normal travel opportunities for our citizens as soon as epidemic conditions allow,” the summit said in a statement.
In fact, the EU admitted that there is no “regression” in the fight against corruption, there is only “the danger of such regression” on the part of Ukraine.
Money
The government of Ukraine and the European Commission signed three agreements on Tuesday, October 6, which provide for Ukraine’s allocation of 60 million euros.
Financing agreement for the event The EU Strong Regions Program foresees an EU contribution of 30 million euros. The funds should help increase social capital in vulnerable regions by helping local governments respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Financing agreement for the event The Ukrainian Civil Society Development Mechanism foresees the allocation of 20 million euros to strengthen democracy. As part of the third financing agreement for the Climate Package for a Stable Economy: (CASE) event in Ukraine, the EU will allocate 10 million euros.
