Ukraine expects the European Union to revise its Neighborhood Policy, and that this revision will affect all the countries of Eastern Europe, said Olha Stefanyshyna, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
“We expect that in 2022 the European Union will start revising the Neighborhood Policy, and this revision will affect all Eastern European countries; that a specific new format of cooperation will be developed for Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, countries aspiring to membership [in the EU]. And we expect that by 2027, when Lithuania assumes the presidency of the EU Council, it will be possible to come up with specific political decisions,” she said during an online discussion of Kyiv Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation entitled “Discover Ukraine.”
Stefanyshyna noted that Ukraine positively assesses the current situation of relations with the EU. “At the same time, we believe that the time has come to start revising the Neighborhood Policy. We hope that this work will begin in 2022. And I know that many in European capitals are ready to join this work, and Ukraine will be able to get the prospect of membership [in EU],” she stressed.
At the same time, she noted that “there is really fatigue from expansion, and we feel it in our capitals.”
