June 23, 2022. OTTAWA, ON. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) welcomes the historic decision taken today by leaders of the European Union to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine.
The granting of EU candidate status is a vital step towards Ukraine’s full membership in the EU. The status begins the process of formal membership negotiations. It is a large step forward in Ukraine’s European integration and in realizing the Ukrainian peoples’ freely chosen destiny of membership in the European Union for their country, as enshrined in 2019 in Ukraine’s Constitution.
UCC National President Alexandra Chyczij and UCC CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn recently travelled to Brussels as part of a UWC delegation that advocated for the granting of candidate status to Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian people are fighting bravely in defence of their country and their sovereign right to choose their common future. Unbowed by Russia’s genocidal aggression, the Ukrainian people will fight until they win, and defend Europe from the scourge of Russian despotism,” stated Alexandra Chyczij, National President of the UCC. “Today’s decision is an important re-affirmation by European leaders of the values for which the EU stands – democracy, human rights and rule of law. It is these values that the Ukrainian people are paying an extraordinarily high price to defend.”
The granting of EU candidate status will also stimulate the reform process in Ukraine, in governance, judicial, rule of law, and economic reforms. The UCC calls on the Government of Canada to play an active role in this process through the provision of expertise and technical assistance.
