Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Tuesday reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to necessary reforms to join the European Union (EU), including legal certainty for investors in the country’s reconstruction.
Kiev government commits to “rapid implementation of ongoing reforms”said Shmyhal at the Berlin international conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE.
Ukraine submitted its application to the EU on February 28, four days after Russia invaded the country.
The European Commission recommended granting candidate country status on June 17, which was approved by EU leaders six days later.
Shmyhal told conference participants that Ukraine aims to complete the EU membership process, the next step in the accession process, by the end of this year.
Among the reforms required are those to provide legal certainty to international investors “in line with EU standards,” Shmyhal said, as well as a reform of customs and labor law.
Shmyhal said the reforms would be implemented “even in times of war” and despite the difficulties arising from the conflict with Russia..
The conference host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that legal certainty and the fight against corruption are two of the most important aspects in attracting international investors to Ukraine.
The Berlin conference focuses on formulating short, medium and long-term financial support to Ukraine.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the conference that Ukraine will regularly need support of about 5 billion dollars (5,070 million euros) from January.
The EU will provide a third of that aid, according to von der Leyen, which amounts to about €18 billion by 2023, according to EFE.
“The reconstruction of Ukraine cannot wait until the end of the war. Ukraine needs support here and now to pay for teachers, soldiers, police or pensions,” warned the president of the European Council.
Scholz said it was necessary to “mobilize financial resources” in the EU and at international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose director, Kristalina Georgieva, is participating in the conference.
“Supporting Ukraine is now supporting a future member of the European Union,” Scholz insisted.
The one-day conference in Berlin was jointly organized by the European Commission and the G7, the group of seven most industrialized countries in the world, whose rotating presidency is currently held by Germany.
The group also includes Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, and also has representation from the EU.
Source: DN
