Ukraine belongs to Europe and it should have the prospect of joining the European Union, President of the German Bundestag Norbert Lammert said at a news conference after talks held with Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn in Berlin on June 16, an UKRINFORM correspondent reported from Germany.
The speakers of the two countries discussed the possibility of deepening Ukrainian-German inter-parliamentary relations and Ukraine's European prospects. "The majority of German parliamentarians and I are convinced that Ukraine is part of Europe, and therefore it deserves EU membership prospects," Lammert said. However, he noted that Ukraine must first say when and under what conditions it wants to join the EU.
Lytvyn, in turn, confirmed Ukraine's desire to join the European community. "But to do so, Ukraine should currently focus on domestic reforms," he said. The speaker said that Ukraine required the support of the EU member countries, including Germany, in the question of signing an association agreement and an action plan on establishing a visa-free regime and creating a free trade area.
Lytvyn agreed that the cancellation of a visa regime for Ukrainians required that the country first develop its own borders, implement in full a law on readmission and then sign an agreement on combating terrorism.
UKRINFORM
