Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba participated in a meeting with a delegation from the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development.
During the meeting, the security situation in the country and the consequences of Russia's daily terrorist attacks on civilian areas were discussed.
Despite the full-scale war continuing for over 600 days and the complex security and political situation in the world, Ukraine remains a priority for Europe, as stated by representatives of the European Parliament.
"Today, the world's attention may be focused on the Middle East, but we have come on this visit to assure the Ukrainian people that our focus will not shift away from Ukraine. The war continues here. Ukraine has our full support, and this support will not diminish. We have also come here to support the provision of EUR 50 billion for the Ukraine Aid Fund, its regions, and cities, as well as the implementation of reforms that are particularly necessary for Ukraine's future EU accession," Chair of the Committee and the delegation Younous Omarjee said.
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President expressed gratitude to the partners for their all-round support, especially for aiding Ukrainians who were forced to seek refuge in Europe due to full-scale Russian aggression.
The European Parliament, led by Roberta Metsola, is actively assisting Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion and in the country's reconstruction efforts, as well as in implementing reforms necessary for EU accession.
The sides discussed the implementation of the decentralization reform, which has been ongoing since 2015 and agreed to collaborate on regional policies that aim to strengthen the entire country.
European partners underscored the importance of adapting the best practices from other EU candidate countries to the Ukrainian context, to create an effective system of governance that suits the current situation in Ukraine and the European region as a whole.
"We continue to work together on the decentralization processes to create an effective system of governance. I am convinced that we should adapt the experiences of other candidates to create our own unique and effective system. The decentralization reform has significant support from Ukrainian society, and strong communities are already demonstrating its results. Therefore, this process will undoubtedly continue with the support of our partners," Oleksiy Kuleba said.