Poland backs opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to EU – Kondratiuk

Poland supports the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk has said.

"Today we have reaffirmed our common position: no concessions to Russian aggression, joint work on strengthening the security of our region and support for Ukraine's European integration path. It is also important that Poland will host the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2026) next year, which opens up new opportunities for long-term joint projects," Kondratiuk said following the 14th session of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland on Thursday in Lviv.

According to Kondratiuk, these provisions are recorded in a joint declaration following the results of the PA session. She said the declaration also speaks of the need to continue search and exhumation work and combat disinformation that Russia spreads in order to sow distrust between Ukrainians and Poles.

In turn, Vice-Marshal of the Polish Sejm Monika Wielichowska stated that the PA session testifies to solidarity, the strength of inter-parliamentary partnership and deep interpersonal ties between the peoples of Ukraine and Poland at this particularly difficult time.

"Poland has been and will remain by Ukraine's side as long as necessary. Ukraine's future is in the European family. We highly appreciate the efforts that Ukraine is making on the path of European integration despite daily threats, pain and losses. In addition to conventional weapons, the Kremlin uses means designed to sow chaos, incite hostility, using a wide arsenal of disinformation tools. We must jointly fight the spread of harmful content," Wielichowska said.

According to the press release, in the declaration, the parliamentarians of Ukraine and Poland confirmed their commitment to the principle of territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine's borders. They stressed the need to create an International Compensation Mechanism for frozen Russian assets and supported the launch of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression. The parliamentarians called on Russia to release all civilian hostages, exchange prisoners of war and return deported Ukrainian children. The declaration emphasized Poland's unwavering support for Ukraine on its path to EU and NATO membership.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Ukraine and Poland was established in 2003 to develop inter-parliamentary cooperation, coordinate positions and promote common strategic interests of the two states.