Korniyenko: Rada's role in EC screening to speed up Ukraine's legislative alignment with EU
The participation of the Verkhovna Rada in the screening process, which was completed by the European Commission, will accelerate the adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to European, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko believes.
"For the first time in the history of all waves of EU enlargement, the parliament has been so involved in the screening. This, one might say, is our know-how... Such active attention of the parliament to European integration will help in the future to more quickly overcome these several hundred laws that we will need to adopt to adapt our legislation," Korniyenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
He said the situation with Ukraine's accession to the EU is truly non-standard.
"This will be a kind of accession, although it will be based on merit. We will still fulfill all the tasks, all the obligations. And it may still be the case that some stages will be accelerated, while some, on the contrary, will be slowed down politically, as we are currently observing at the stage of opening the clusters. In any case, Ukraine's accession to the EU is a decision of the member states, and these are 27 countries, and in accepting it, they will also be based on their interests," the first deputy chairman said.
According to Korniyenko, the state of implementation of the Association Agreement by Ukraine is quite high – over 70%.
"We are not entering this process from scratch," he said.
Korniyenko said the first cluster of negotiations covers key democratic principles, the so-called "Fundamentals," which include roadmaps for reforming public administration, ensuring the rule of law, and the functioning of democratic institutions.
"These areas are part of the negotiating framework between Ukraine and the EU. They are very important, because the European Union is a club not only in terms of economic interests, customs interests, but also in terms of value issues. And how quickly and effectively we integrate this part into our legislation, and, therefore, into our practice, into our daily behavior at the level of all branches of government, depends on how quickly we will become a full-fledged member of the European Union family," Korniyenko said.
According to the MP, the Verkhovna Rada has done a lot at different stages to fulfill certain candidate tasks and has shown quite good dynamics, which will continue to be maintained.
"Of course, now the issue of opening clusters directly affects other European integration processes, and if the European Commission understands how to move in such conditions, it will be very appropriate," the first deputy chairman said.
As reported, after the completion of the screening by the European Commission for the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with European legislation, the Verkhovna Rada expects the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.