Kyiv seeks to speed up integration with EU

Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Secretary Andriy Kliuyev has announced plans to accelerate the country's integration into Europe and implement agreements adopted at the 16th Ukraine-EU summit at a more rapid pace.

The council outlined urgent measures the Ukrainian authorities would have to take in the near future, Kliuyev's press service said. The council wants the Ukrainian cabinet to make efforts to speed up the adoption of legislative and other regulatory acts included in the action plan that allows the European Union to liberalize its visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens. Ukrainian lawmakers will have to tackle a large amount of work, Kliuyev said, citing the need to pass constitutional amendments that would give the Audit Chamber a bigger say in organizing control over both state budget spending and budget revenue. Kliuyev called on the Ukrainian authorities to immediately start preparations for implementing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. Such an instruction to the Ukrainian government was included in the council's resolution. "An appropriate set of bills should be drawn up before October 1. It will subsequently be forwarded to the Venice Commission for consideration," Kliuyev said. The council's resolution also deals with several aspects of the ongoing reform in Ukraine's criminal justice system and courts because this reform and the reorganization of the law enforcement system are interconnected in many ways, said Andriy Kliuyev.