Korniyenko to European parliamentarians: Ukraine part of EU de facto, fix it de jure

Oleksandr Korniyenko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, asks European parliamentarians to expedite Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

"We are definitely part of the European Union. We have proven this de facto, and we ask you, dear colleagues, to speed up bringing this de jure," Korniyenko said in a video message to the heads of European parliaments and parliamentarians, released on Thursday.

According to him, Ukraine has always looked towards Europe and checked its watches towards the European course.

"We paid a very high price for this and continue to pay every day: millions of refugees, hundreds of thousands of homeless citizens, thousands of deaths, billions of dollars of damage to civilian infrastructure. What else is missing in order to understand that we are paying such a price, after which it cannot be said that Ukraine may have some additional conditions, additional chances, that we need to think about whether to accept our country [in the EU]?" the MP said.

He stressed that Ukraine has proved that "it has done everything possible and impossible to join the European Union as soon as possible" and "now the ball is in your field."

Korniyenko recalled that the admission of countries to the EU under the accelerated procedure is a bold step, but not unprecedented.

"In the history of the European Union, there was definitely a case with East Germany, over which bombers did not fly and people did not die, but the admission under a shortened procedure happened," the First Deputy Chairman said.

He also noted that Ukraine still has a lot of work ahead – the continuation of the synchronization of legislation with the European Union one, the implementation of those reforms that Ukraine did not have time to make in peacetime, but which have long been worked out and designed at the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada.

"The fact that Ukraine can quickly catch up with any gaps, you can see in the example of our glorious army, which in a short time has become one of the most powerful armies in the world," he said.