On December 11, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis took part in an informal meeting of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC) in Lviv. The first-ever meeting of the Council outside the European Union was chaired by Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre and attended by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
During the event, representatives of all 27 EU Member States discussed in detail Ukraine’s European integration process, including the steps that need to be taken for Ukraine to open all negotiation clusters as soon as possible. The Council members highly appreciated the progress made by Ukraine in aligning its legislation with EU law and implementing relevant reforms.
The meeting participants assured Ukraine of their unwavering support in confronting Russian aggression and their readiness to continue to provide our state with all necessary political, economic, humanitarian, military and financial assistance. The parties noted the importance of the adoption next week by the EU Council of a decision to provide Ukraine with the so-called Reparations Loan using frozen Russian assets, as well as ensuring the financial stability of our state.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Yevhen Perebiynis held a number of bilateral meetings, including with the Minister for European Affairs of Sweden, Josefina Rosenkrantz, the Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Martin Dvorak, the Director General for European Affairs and Coordination of Belgium, Christoph de Neisse, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, Andrea Meteiko-Zgombić, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Geza Andreas von Geyr, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Neva Grašić, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Artēms Uršulskis, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Sigitas Mitkus, the State Secretary for European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Clara-Georgiana Staicu, as well as the State Secretary for European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Fernando Sanpedro-Marcos.
During the meetings, the parties discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and political dialogue with the relevant countries, as well as coordination within the framework of accelerating the negotiation process for Ukraine's accession to the EU.
Yevhen Perebyinis informed the interlocutors about the progress of negotiations to achieve peace in Ukraine and received assurances from partners in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state.