You're reading: European Parliament urges Ukraine to conduct reforms on occasion of anniversary of signing Ukraine-European Union Association Agreemen

BRUSSELS - Chairman of the Delegation to the European Union - Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee Andrej Plenković and European Parliament (EP) standing rapporteur on Ukraine Jacek Saryusz-Wolski have expressed support to Ukrainian people on the occasion of the first anniversary of the signing of the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement.

‘We applaud the struggle of the Ukrainian people, who by their own self-sacrificing example defended their European choice and made the signing of the Association Agreement possible,’ they said in a statement.

‘Today Ukraine is at the beginning of a long and challenging way ahead of comprehensive reforms aimed at building new and prospering European Ukraine that would be a driving force for fateful changes in the region as a whole,’ they said.

‘We welcome that a strong commitment of the Ukrainian authorities to the political association and economic integration with the European Union has already been translated into concrete results delivered on the reform agenda and on the implementation of the Association Agreement, despite challenges to its sovereignty and territorial integrity due to ongoing Russian aggression,’ MEPs said.

‘We encourage the Ukrainian authorities to make specific efforts on such crucial aspects as constitutional reform, decentralization, fight against corruption, enhancement of the judiciary, reform of energy sector, reform of the civilian security sector etc. We expect that these efforts will receive further comprehensive support and assistance by the European Union,’ reads the statement.

Ukraine and the EU signed the Association Agreement on June 27, 2014.