At the invitation of Polish President Andrzej Duda, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy together with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania took part in the festivities on the occasion of the 230th anniversary of the 3 May Constitution, the first valid document in Europe comparable to modern constitutions.
During the visit, the leaders discussed our common future in Europe and the main challenges facing Europeans. It was confirmed that the inalienable values for our societies are: freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, rule of law, equality and solidarity. This is reflected in the five-party declaration signed by the leaders of Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: a united Europe must be open to all countries and peoples who share common values. This is an important signal of support for Ukraine's European integration aspirations.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Andrzej Duda also signed a joint bilateral Declaration on Ukraine's European Prospect. This is the second such document concluded between Ukraine and the EU country. As you know, a declaration was signed with Lithuania in March this year. The text of the joint declaration of leaders stipulates that our country has a European prospect in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union.
"The Presidents of Ukraine and Poland noted Ukraine's intention to apply for EU membership in the future after the implementation of the Association Agreement subject to the Copenhagen criteria and agreed that the Republic of Poland will support Ukraine in this regard," the document reads.
In the context of the recently announced idea of holding a summit with the participation of European Council President Charles Michel and the leaders of the associated Eastern Partnership countries, we note that Ukraine is ready to strengthen the European community in the east of our continent with Georgia and Moldova. That is why the leaders of Ukraine and Poland in a joint declaration noted the need for a strategic review of the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership to ensure an "open door" policy for those associate partners who have European aspirations and meet certain conditions and criteria.
It is logical that the coalition in support of Ukraine's membership in the European Union started from Lithuania and Poland, which are our strategic partners. But systemic work is underway with all EU member states to obtain meaningful political support on our country's path to the European Union.
Ukraine is carrying out a transformation that really brings us closer to achieving this goal. Reforms that have been delayed or only partially implemented for decades are finally being enshrined in law and strengthening the state at the institutional level. Economic relations in our country are gaining the necessary transparency for sustainable growth. By implementing the Association Agreement with the European Union, we have reached such a progress that the modernization of the Agreement is a totally relevant task that we are already working on with European partners.
"Ukrainians are already influencing our common European destiny. It is on our land that the future of Europe is being decided. We will ensure full integration of Ukraine into the commonwealth of European countries, and this will prove that the basic values of freedom, democracy and equality on our continent are key elements of large-scale progress and development," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.