Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze: “We must remain mobilized to win this war”

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, took part in the conference “Ukraine in the European Union: Time to Act”, which was held in the Italian Senate. This event was organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rome, the Embassy of Ukraine in Rome, Senator Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata and the Representation of the European Commission in Italy.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked Italy, its government and its people for their loyal support of Ukraine. She emphasised the tectonic shift in Italy's policy towards Ukraine, which took place after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. “Now it is important to ensure unity around Ukraine: to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes, until victory. To support Ukraine in the transformations necessary to achieve its strategic goals — membership in the EU and NATO, as well as to assist in the post-war recovery and reconstruction. Not only Ukraine but also of all European states will benefit from it,” said the Chair of the Committee.

She noted that Ukraine is currently completing the seven requirements that accompanied the granting of candidate status. “We are waiting for a positive assessment and a positive conclusion from the European Commission based on the results of fulfilling the seven requirements. And then we hope for the decision of the EU member states, their political will to take the next step and open membership negotiations already this year,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. She noted that a decision to open membership negotiations will attract additional attention to Ukraine from European partners. This is important from the point of strengthening institutions and carrying out the large amount of work that is necessary to transform the country in accordance with EU requirements.

The Chair of the Committee emphasised that considering this volume of work, all branches of power in Ukraine should realistically estimate the time frame for joining the EU. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze stated that despite the martial law Ukraine should not give up the milestones that have been already achieved on the path of democratic transformation, in particular, decentralisation and freedom of speech: “I hope that our partners from the EU will support us with their knowledge, experience, expertise and share lessons learned, so that we can avoid the mistakes that other countries made on this path.”

Regarding the reconstruction of Ukraine, the Chair of the Committee noted the importance of creating the Ukraine facility — a mechanism that provides for the accumulation of 50 billion euros over four years to support Ukraine. At the same time, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that the reconstruction needs of our state significantly exceed this amount. “When it comes to the fact that the Ukraine facility should help Ukraine in post-war reconstruction, there is probably an incomplete understanding of the extent of the damage and reconstruction needed. Russia, unfortunately, is doing everything possible to wipe us off the face of the earth, leaving behind a burnt and mined desert. Therefore, demining is a challenging task in addition to liberation and reconstruction,” the Chair of the Committee noted.

She insisted that now is not the time to get tired of supporting Ukraine. “We need to keep ourselves and our societies mobilised to win this war and ensure that the democratic space of freedom and prosperity expands to those countries that seek it and defend the values of the free world. I hope that Ukraine will be perceived in the EU not only as a state that needs support, but also as a state that will make the EU stronger economically, geopolitically and morally,” Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze concluded.