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Ukraine. Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal named six advantages that EU membership candidate status will provide:
· First, it is a legal consolidation of Ukraine's European future. It means that Ukraine will not just join the EU overnight, but will go through a process where it already meets many of the necessary criteria.
· Preparations for membership will include the completion of a comprehensive transformation in all areas. Ukraine will be constantly supported by the European Commission, providing necessary advice and other assistance.
· Ukraine will become a full member of EU programs and initiatives open to both EU and candidate countries. As a result, Ukraine, as a candidate country, will have more opportunities to have its voice heard in EU policymaking.
· By gaining candidate status and moving towards membership, Ukraine will become more attractive to investors. The business climate will be closer to EU conditions - investors will operate in a predictable and business-protected market.
· Ukraine will have access to financial assistance for countries preparing to join the EU (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)). This aid may be provided through grants, investments, or technical assistance.
· The EU will treat the Ukrainian restoration funds not as the post-war reconstruction of an outside country but as investing in the welfare of a potential EU member.
Justice Ministry: Ukraine to ban 7 more pro-Russian parties.
According to Valeriia Kolomiets, deputy justice minister, 10 pro-Russian parties have already been banned in Ukraine. In May, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law banning parties that support or whitewash Russia’s war against Ukraine and deny the fact that Moscow has illegally occupied Ukrainian territories.
Ukraine will not accept any alternatives except EU membership candidate status. Ukraine will not agree to any options other than being granted candidate's status for accession to the European Union, announced Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. "We will not accept any surrogate versions or alternatives other than candidate status, whatever they may be. We need EU candidate status. Nothing other than a candidate, no potential candidate or another surrogate, nothing else. We have been playing this game for a long time, and we know how it works," Kuleba said. According to him, Ukraine meets the criteria for candidate status, but there are still skeptics in Europe trying to impose an alternative.
Ukraine has applied for accession to the OECD. In Lugano, Switzerland, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal submitted Ukraine's application for joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to
9 UKRAINE Country Report XXXX 2018 www.intellinews.com