Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze says that Ukraine intends to study the opportunities for joining the Schengen zone in the long term.
“After the introduction of the visa-free regime with the EU, Ukraine intends to study the opportunities for accession to the Schengen area in the long term,” Klympush-Tsintsadze said at the opening of the fifth annual Eastern Partnership conference in Tallinn, Estonia, the press service of the deputy premier said on Friday.
Also, according to the deputy PM, Ukraine seeks to be actively involved in the implementation of the EU external investment plan. Separately, Klympush-Tsintsadze noted the need to introduce more advanced models of cooperation for associate partners after they make progress in the implementation of a comprehensive free trade area with the EU.
“The ‘Eastern Partnership Plus’ Initiative should receive a practical basis: the participating countries of the existing program prefer to access the “four EU freedoms,” namely, the freedom of movement of goods, services, people and capital,” she said.
Separately, Klympush-Tsintsadze raised the topic of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the energy sector, since the parties have long been strategic partners in this field. “We completely share the ideas of the Energy Union and we want to join it, which will promote competition in the domestic market, strengthen regional cooperation and improve energy security,” the deputy prime minister said.
