The status of a candidate member of the European Union gives Ukraine access to new EU financial support programs. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this in a joint video message to Ukrainians with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk on the occasion of granting the EU candidate status to Ukraine against the backdrop of the Magdeburg Law column in Kyiv, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"Candidate status means new prospects and new opportunities for Ukraine. Access to new EU financial support programs. These are new investments, new projects, new jobs, as well as support for post-war reconstruction," he said.
The Prime Minister noted that now Ukraine will not only adopt European experience, but will also be able to influence the formation of EU sectoral policies and relations between Ukraine and the EU are moving from a neighborhood policy to an enlargement policy.
He also said that granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate is a high assessment by the EU of the transformations in Ukraine, thanks to which the country is integrating into the EU economy in energy, digital sphere, customs, transport and other key sectors.
As Ukrainian News Agency reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that granting the EU candidate status to Ukraine is a point of no return, a recognition that Ukraine is not a buffer or "gray" zone between the West and Russia, but is part of Europe.
On June 23, the European Council decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership.
On June 17, the European Commission recommended that the European Council grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership and set a number of conditions for implementation.
Ukraine expects to fulfill the requirements of the European Commission for membership by the end of 2022 in order to start negotiations on joining the EU.
The EU intends to allocate EUR 9 billion to Ukraine.
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