The Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko participated in the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (COREPER II) in Brussels. The meeting discussed, among other things, the issues of sanctions pressure on russia, strengthening economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, reconstruction of our country, etc.

“Ukraine welcomes the European Commission’s recommendations on the 10th package of sanctions against russia. Thus, it looks forward to further cooperation in strengthening sanctions pressure on the aggressor state,” said First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko.

She emphasized that the suggested package takes into account many of Ukraine’s proposals. In particular, regarding sanctions against the russian military-industrial complex as well as measures against sanctions circumvention. However, for example, there are no restrictions on imports of russian diamonds, which Ukraine and our EU partners have long insisted on. According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine stands ready to continue working on this issue with its partners, including at the G7 level. 

“We also need to change the narrative about Rosatom and the russian nuclear industry. The reason to refrain from sanctions is obvious:  Rosatom is highly integrated into the global market. But the absence of any clear messages about the possibility of sanctions in this area gives Putin freedom to test nuclear weapons. The official involvement of Rosatom in the russian military machine is a signal of a conscious sense of impunity. And this is a nuclear threat to everyone,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Speaking about strengthening economic integration and measures to help the Ukrainian economy function in a normal way throughout the war period, Yuliia Svyrydenko emphasized the importance of continuing the EU’s unilateral measures to temporarily lift import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports.

“We are also really interested in turning temporary solutions into permanent ones under the Association Agreement, as in the case of roaming,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko, noting that a new version of Annex XVII-3 to the Association Agreement on roaming had recently been agreed upon. This will allow Ukraine to transform the current temporary roaming solution into a permanent one.

The First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy expressed hope for quick progress in the implementation of this project and its further extension to telecommunications in general and other areas of the EU single market. The conclusion of the ACAA agreement, the so-called “industrial visa-free regime”, will allow free movement of goods between Ukraine and the EU. Further implementation of EU customs rules in Ukraine will eliminate any obstacles to border crossing.

“The unification of energy markets can be laid down in a solid legal framework under the Association Agreement,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

She reminded that according to the Priority Action Plan for Enhanced Implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU for 2023-2024, 29 measures have been agreed upon to help use the potential of the Association Agreement for Ukraine’s economic integration.

Considerable attention at the meeting was paid to the issues of restoration of Ukraine. Yuliia Svyrydenko mentioned that a strong attraction of investments into the economy right away would help ensure the fastest possible recovery. For this purpose, the need is to introduce effective war risk insurance programs.

“We have already communicated with a number of national institutions. We want them to actively insure war risks for investments by national companies in Ukraine. We need to give companies confidence that this risk can be covered. This will allow them not to wait for the formal end of the war and start their investments now,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

For reference:

The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (COREPER II) is the body responsible for preparing the work of the EU Council in the areas of foreign policy, economy and finance, justice and home affairs, etc. The Committee:

• coordinates and prepares the work of different configurations of the Council
• ensures the consistency of EU policy
• develops agreements and compromises, which are then submitted for adoption by the EU Council.