First important condition for Ukraine’s European integration already fulfilled - Polish minister

Ukraine has already fulfilled the first important condition toward European integration: there is consensus among the elites and Ukrainian society regarding joining the EU. Warsaw is doing everything possible to quickly adopt the negotiating framework for Kyiv's European integration.

This was stated by Adam Szlapka, Minister for EU Affairs in the Polish Government, who spoke during a discussion on the topic "Rebuilding Ukraine: Challenges and Opportunities", which took place at the Warsaw School of Economics, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As the Polish minister noted, after the Revolution of Dignity, the outset of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and the full-scale invasion in 2022, the Ukrainians no longer have any doubts about the need for integration with the Western world. He emphasized that in Ukraine, there is now the consensus among the elites and the whole society regarding joining the EU, "which is the primary condition required for European integration, which Ukraine has already fulfilled."

He called continuity of the European integration process of Ukraine and achievement of progress in this matter as the second necessary condition on this path.

"Even if this process doesn’t complete quickly - it will indeed be long-term - and even if it will be difficult, it must actively move forward. In this regard, the vast majority of EU countries support Ukraine, and Poland is at the forefront of these countries. We are pressing very hard that the negotiation framework be adopted, which will allow opening the next negotiation clusters," Szlapka emphasized.

He noted that Poland has extensive experience in European integration after 20 years of membership in the Community, and stands ready to share it with Ukraine.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, during a recent visit to Kyiv, President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, expressed hope that the EU Council would approve the framework for Ukraine’s accession talks as early as this June.

The discussion in Warsaw took place within the framework of the Ukrainian Week at the Higher School of Economics, organized by the student academic circle on the Ukraine recovery.