Ukraine and the European Union will hold high-level consultations regarding the implications of the referendum in the United Kingdom for Ukrainian-European bilateral relations, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairperson Iryna Gerashchenko said.
“The main theme for us is Brexit’s implications for Ukraine,” Gerashchenko said on Facebook on Friday.
“This would have more serious implications for the EU itself, which now has to think about resolving hundreds of issues and problems related to Britain’s possible withdrawal,” Gerashchenko said.
“The Euro-skeptics’ positions in other European countries will be strengthening. The Kremlin will be happy to see a divided and weakened Europe,” she said.
“Certainly, this tsunami may touch Ukraine as well. Therefore, Ukraine and the EU will hold high-level consultations in the near future on the referendum’s implications for our bilateral relations,” Gerashchenko said.
Ukraine expects to be granted visa-free travel with the EU this year, she said.
“We expect that the European Parliament will carry out all relevant procedures, such as hearings at the committees and then at the session hall, without delay, and then the EU Council will make an appropriate decision. We also expect the EU to continue its general policy regarding sanctions against Russia until the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. We are categorically against any speculations on the gradual lifting of the sanctions,” she said.
At the same time, now that the EU is plunging into its own serious problems, Ukraine would find it even harder to defend its position, she said.
“But this is not a reason to give up, and the visa-free travel would be an even more remarkable win,” Gerashchenko said.
