The blue flag of 12 gold stars of the European Union was brought to the Ukrainian parliament on Friday morning, a week after EU leaders decided to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country to join the bloc.
The special parliamentary session featured interventions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
During the Ukrainian Parliament’s Friday, July 1 session, the President of Ukraine, the Parliament Chairman, and Ukraine’s Prime Minister signed a joint statement regarding the decision of the European Council to grant Ukraine EU membership candidate status.
The document demonstrates Ukraine’s determination and commitment to urgently move forward toward EU membership.
“A new history of Ukraine and the European Union has begun. We are now not next to each other, but together. Not two neighbors between which there are borders and barriers, but one European family that has common values and a common destiny,” Zelenskyy said in his speech to the parliament session.
President Zelensky noted that the joint statement “is a signal of the unity of all levels of government and evidence of the determination to achieve Ukraine’s strategic goal; namely, full membership in the European Union.”
“Our path to membership should not take years, decades. We must overcome this path quickly. As far as possible, it depends on us,” Zelensky said.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her online speech in the parliament, assured Ukrainian parliamentarians that the EU would be by Ukraine’s side at every step on its path of transformations and changes toward EU membership.
In a speech delivered remotely, President von der Leyen praised the “tenacity” and “passion” of the Ukrainian people, who kept the parliament open “even in the darkest days,” and emphasised the need for reforms.
“Of course, reforms always take time. That is how all our democracies work. They need constant commitment and dedication,” the Commission chief said.
“And for instance, no one expects Ukraine to fill in all posts in your new institutions while so many of your best and brightest are fighting on the front. But Ukraine’s democracy must be kept on the right track.”
Von der Leyen also highlighted the great strides the country has made since the 2014 Maidan revolution, a chapter that decisively shifted Ukraine towards the West and prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to illegally annex Crimea.
“Ukraine now has a clear European perspective and it is a candidate to join the European Union. Something that seemed almost unimaginable just five months ago,” von der Leyen said.
“Today is first and foremost a moment to celebrate this historic milestone. A victory of determination and resolve. And a victory for the whole movement that started eight years ago on the Maidan.”
At the end of von der Leyen’s speech, Ruslan Stefanchuk, chair of the parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, asked the national guard of Ukraine to bring the EU flag into the chamber.
“The Verkhovna Rada deserves the EU flag both in colour and in meaning Stefanchuk said.
Matti Maasikas, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, described the moment as “moving to tears.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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