Roberta METSOLA, EP President, and Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) hold a press conference in occasion of Stefanchuk's official visit to the European Parliament in Brussels. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

EU - Ukraine (T)

Brussels

press conference

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

president's agenda

solidarity with Ukraine (T)

STEFANTCHOUK, Rouslan

Press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, and Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/73561599/1701162724163_I249720Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Thank you very much, gentlemen. Good morning to you all. Let me warly welcome the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, to the European Parliament. It is truly an honour to have you here with us. As was just said, the we have just moments ago signed a renewed memorandum of understanding for parliamentary democracy support between our two Parliaments. This is an important and symbolic step in further strengthening our long standing relations.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It is also a practical way in which we, as the European Parliament, can help Ukraine prepare for EU accession. This partnership will be further reinforced by our decision to establish a permanent European Parliament presence in Kiev. This morning we also had a wider political discussion with all the group leaders within the format of the Conference of Presidents, which held an extraordinary meeting specifically for Ruslan visits and a statement from this meeting has just been issued.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Three quick issues to highlight from my side. First of all, we need to continue to provide support to Ukraine, military support, in particular through the European Peace Facility as well as from Member States bilaterally. Secondly, our position is clear. We must agree on a new 50 billion Ukraine facility as soon as possible. This is why the European Parliament anticipated this decision by already adopting our position in October, which was overwhelmingly adopted positively.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Thirdly, let me comment. Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada and you, Ruslan, we have known each other now for a long time for the tremendous efforts that you have made and continue to make to meet all the objectives for opening accession negotiations in unimaginably difficult circumstances.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, As the Parliament, we hope and we expect a positive decision by the European Council this December. So, in conclusion, our message is this the European Parliament will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Dear Chairman, now the floor is yours.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Dear Mr. President, Dear Roberta, dear representatives of mass media, I would like really to express my sincere gratitude to you, dear Roberta and to all European Parliament for the leadership that they are demonstrating in support of Ukraine. Because all your political decisions, all your declarations, are directed to support Ukraine and it means that this is support to democracy, fighting for democracy.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And apart from that, I would like to say that this event which happened today is, of course, historical, because we have signed a memorandum that will definitely become a very important landmark for our future European rapprochement. This will be concrete cooperation between our Parliaments. And I'm very grateful for your trust about what you said about the opening of the parliamentary representation in Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), We have to do our best that Ukrainian parliament, both in infrastructure, in the expert help and in other issues, should start to approach the standards which are now applied in the European Union. I would like also to express gratitude for the unified support from all the presidents and representatives of European parties represented in the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), I have felt this support today, and I would like to say that Ukraine will continue to hold on. Ukraine will continue to fight, to fight for European ideals, for European values. We will go forward independently from the war because we see that European Union, for us, for Ukrainians, is a real important perspective. And I'm very grateful for those steps we have undertaken today.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Apart from that, I would like to underline which, from 24th of February last year, it is in the regime of non-stop plenary session. We are implementing all the necessary reforms that are asked from Ukraine because we understand that all these reforms are needed in Ukraine itself and we will go forward, we will take all the necessary legislation, we will exercise parliamentary control because our representatives in the Parliament are representatives of our peoples and peoples want peace. They want victory of Ukraine and they want to continue to mutually beneficial cooperate.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And I again want to express my huge gratitude to you, the president of the Parliament. I'm very grateful, this wonderful day for the support of Ukraine, which was expressed. And with this support, we will definitely be victorious. Thank you very much.

Q&A, Question regarding on Ukraine and EU enlargement.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Thank you very much for your question. You know that lately in the last report about Ukraine from the European Union, the big success, the big progress was marked in in terms of completion of the recommendations. We have adopted all the necessary legislative acts and after the report of the European Commission in the European Parliament, it was mentioned that certain exact issues are still outstanding about anti-corruption bureau, about declarations and also some national minorities issues.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), I would like to inform you that on the session just before in the Parliament of Ukraine, we have adopted there still laws in the first reading. So, I have mentioned this to the President of European Parliament and I have assured her that before the decision on European negotiations is taken, we will adopt this both laws in the second reading. Ukraine will not give any ground for suspicion that we are not yet ready for negotiations to full fledged membership in European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Thank you very much. I can continue exactly where Ruslan had left. We look forward very much to the continuing discussions and adoption of legislation in the Verkhovna Rada. We are confident in the Speaker's ability to bring together the Ukrainian recommendations towards what the Commission and the Member States will want to see before the much awaited decision during the European Council in December.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, You used the word presumed in your question. In a way, in this Parliament, we don't presume, we hope. We hope with an optimism with what we see the Ukrainians have managed to do since they became candidate countries. That was an unprecedented decision by the European Council. Each Member State saying yes for Ukraine, together with Moldova, to become candidate countries to join the European Union, steps were taken.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Each country has its own path, but Ukraine has fulfilled each and every step that it has been asked of it. And I would say, myself as President of this Parliament, but this is exactly what I will say in my intervention in the European Council in December, is that a candidate country expects our words to match our rhetoric and then our actions to match our words. So for us, we will continue to work country by country in order to ensure that the end of the year can see off the most positive of political decisions that I would say we have seen in a long time.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, On the €50 billion here, this is the Parliament wanted to send the strongest of signals. We were ready. This is a file that has the European Parliament as a legislator. In order for us to vote in favour of the much needed assistance by Ukraine. There's one thing that everybody representing Ukraine and anybody watching how Ukraine is fighting this illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war is the need for assistance.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Macro-financial assistance that has been voted is coming to an end and therefore we need to put our money where our mouth is. In other words, we need a decision on financial assistance. We'll have to see the amount. But I have not heard the Prime Ministers, Heads of State and government who say no to this part of the financial negotiations. There is agreement that Ukraine should be helps and help. You should get.

Q&A, Question regarding on the next EU elections in the light of the EU enlargement.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Well, from my experience of European elections is that there is a duty on our part to communicate our decisions, to explain them, and to say very clearly why decisions have been taken. Past four years and a half of this mandate have not been easy, but if you look back, you can see that out of such difficult, seemingly insurmountable challenges, we have come out more united and stronger than before.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, If you look at how we managed to emerge stronger from the pandemic and then since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, how we have uncoupled ourselves from Russian gas, how we have managed to continue on our path for more investment in renewables, on our ambitious path to be the most climate ambitious continent by 2050.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, How do I see the European elections? European elections also depends on how we manage it. First of all, in ensuring that as many people as possible vote and this is not an easy task. It is one where we will see for the first time. Four countries where 16 year olds will vote, and one where it's always easier to drive a populist black and white narrative than a constructive, pro-European centrist one.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, But I am convinced that if you counter that narrative and explain why decisions are taken and why Europe continues to be a success story, than people in all Member States, even in the one you mentioned, we will have people who come out to vote for their members, their representatives, 720 over here who will be continuing on having a task, to continue to take very difficult decisions from a legislative and also political perspective in the next five years.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It will not be easy, but it has never been easy. Perhaps one thing I would say is, what concerns me, is if one country holds up a decision from being taken, such as we have seen with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, then that automatically sends a message to that country that there are different classes of citizens, that there is discrimination, that there is no equality of access.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, That is what we will fight for as we go towards the election in order to celebrate 20 years of ten countries having joined the European Union, including my own, one that has been seen as transformational effect and one that can really see that European Union membership also in the context of enlargement. Because enlargement has always been a successful geopolitical and also security at this point story. One that can be very well explained, but one that has to be explained and explained positively.

Q&A, Question regarding on discussions about the representation office of the Ukrainian Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Yes, we have signed a very important memorandum today which have given the main framework of our cooperation. Well, on the basis of this memorandum, we will develop a plan on how to implement the memorandum. Every year, we will probably report about tightening of our cooperation on the basis of Parliaments and perhaps a new representation as associated Member in European Union, and also about more powerful cooperation between our committees in the Rada and in the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), We have just marked today day that we are approaching the same landmark in institutional reforms in main values. We are on the path of rapprochement and this is a very important decision. And the rest we will discuss in details with the members of political parties, with the President of the Parliament, Ms. Metsola, and I think we will implement it in time. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, To complement that, we have provided since day one of the Russian war against Ukraine, practical and political support to the Rada through equipment, interpretation services in order to help them operate. Now, what we are doing today is reinforcing our parliamentary ties, and that is exactly why we signed an updated memorandum of understanding.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The intense levels of contact are consisting of almost constant visits by members of the European Parliament to Kiev, to meet their counterparts from a committee to committee level. This is facilitated also by the Jean Monnet process. And yesterday we also held a public hearing over here of the high level working group on the environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, This, I can tell you, is only a short list of what we have done. There is actually a lot of activities and supports in the pipeline. We work very closely at a technical and administrative level, also with the embassy here, and I can say that it can only get stronger. Thank you.