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Ukraine to eventually join the European Union, EC chief claims

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU cooperated with Ukraine very closely in energy and other areas

BRUSSELS, February 28. /TASS/. President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen expressed support for Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU) over time in her interview to the Euronews TV channel on Sunday evening.

"Ukraine participates in some European processes, for example, in the integration of the Ukrainian market into the EU single market. We cooperate very closely, for example, in energy and other areas," von der Leyen said, "Over time, Ukraine should join the EU, this country is one of us, and we want to see it in the European family," she concluded.

Latvian President Egils Levits said Sunday that the EU should immediately grant Ukraine candidate status for membership. Presidents Andrzej Duda of Poland and Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania made a similar proposal.

On September 16, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada approved a draft law on the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. On November 1, 2014, Ukraine began implementing the main provisions of the agreement, and from the beginning of 2016, the provisions on a free trade zone also began to apply. The deal fully entered into force on September 1, 2017. In February 2019, the Verkhovna Rada approved amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, enshrining the country's strategic course to join the EU and NATO.

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