The group in the European Parliament “Renew Europe“ invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and deputies from his party "Servant of the People" to participate in some of its activities as a sign of friendship and as a way to involve Ukraine in EU processes before the start of its accession negotiations, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Ukraine, which received strong support from most European countries after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its territory two years ago, is a candidate member to join the 27-member European Union, but the process will take years.
„Renew Europe“ announced that he is inviting Zelensky to the meetings of his leadership and the deputies from "Servant of the People" at their parliamentary meetings.
“Renew Europe“, the third largest group in the EP, includes heads of government and members of governing parties from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Estonia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. Leadership meetings usually include French President Emmanuel Macron and his counterparts from other European countries.
The group also proposed to provide the “Servant of the People” expert assistance in preparing Ukraine for the EU accession negotiation process.
„We believe that “Servant of the People” will get even closer to our [European] Parliament and the family of “Renew Europe”, said the chair of the group Valery Iyer after her meeting today in Kyiv with the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk.
Ukraine is one of eight countries hoping to join the EU, but the process is expected to be long as the country struggles against Russian invasion and will have to carry out a series of reforms to meet European standards in many areas .
To accept a new member the size of Ukraine, the EU requires internal reforms, further complicating the process.
European officials said the Renew Europe initiative, as MEPs campaign for the June 6-9 EP elections, is a way for them to reach out to Ukraine before concrete steps are taken on the accession process. .
„We do not want to wait until official observer status is granted to begin serious joint work,” said Iyer.