A high-level Advisory Group on Ukraine's accession to the European Union arrived on its first working visit in Kyiv on Monday, July 22, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine has reported.

"The group consists of 11 former European commissioners, ministers and ambassadors from Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark with their own experience of EU accession," the Facebook post says.

The visit began with a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna. The participants discussed Ukraine's expectations in the context of EU accession, priorities and a calendar, as well as the possibilities of interaction with the Advisory Group on this path. The experts of the group told how their experience can help Ukraine move forward dynamically in the process of joining the EU.

"We are grateful to the North Baltic Group for this initiative, and we are glad to welcome you to Kyiv for the first time. Now that the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU has formally begun, we face a new challenge – to move forward at a high pace. Today we discussed the architecture of the negotiation process and our expectations from each stage. We highly appreciate your knowledge and willingness to work together with Ukraine on this path, to immerse yourself in every dimension of the functioning of the state in order to make the European dream of millions of Ukrainians a reality. There are two days ahead, full of meetings with ministries, parliamentarians and civil society, and I am sure that they will help you better understand all the processes," Stefanishyna said.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis and Director of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Oleksandr Ilkov.

The initiative is part of the Swedish Chairmanship of the North Baltic Cooperation and was launched in April 2024 by Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom in the presence of ministers of the Northern Baltic states. The initiative is funded by Sweden.