Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honor and pleasure for me to join the welcoming remarks by my distinguished colleagues and friends – Shalva, Victor and Dominic at today’s event.
For each of our three countries, the path towards the Association Agreement was different.
For Ukraine it took 7 long years - to walk the thorny road towards the political association and economic integration with the EU.
And we would definitely wish to sign this Agreement under different, more peaceful circumstances.
But Ukraine recently has faced drastic developments and serious challenges. At the same time, they strengthened the Ukrainian nation, proved that European values of liberty, democracy and solidarity are deeply engrained in its character.
The Association Agreement is not just a declaration on the establishment of a new level of relations between Ukraine and the EU. For Ukraine, first of all, it is a detailed plan of transforming every aspect of our state’s life in accordance with European standards, a road-map to our rapprochement with the EU, a tool for consolidation of European values.
The Government of Ukraine is committed to serious work on implementation of the Association Agreement. The process of establishment of a national coordination system in the field of European integration, which will closely interact with the newly created European support group for Ukraine, is well underway.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I truly believe that unity, solidarity, mutual trust and confidence, as well as joint coordinated work for the implementation of reforms are most needed in these challenging times.
Solidarity, unity and reforms – today these are the key words for all of us.
The project of a united Europe won’t be completed until our nations, including Ukraine, are found outside its borders.
The prospect of EU membership is one of the key factors that encourages and will continue encouraging countries in the realization of large-scale transformations and building-up European-standard societies.
For us, the European Union is an example of political, economic and social success.
Ukraine, on its part, has a huge potential of positive European energy.
And we are mainstreaming this energy to the right direction.
To conclude I would like to thank you all for celebrating with us this historic event.