Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from the government of Ukraine on membership of the EU; and if he will make a statement.

On 16 September the Ukraine Parliament (Rada) ratified the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, demonstrating Ukraine’s commitment to closer integration with the European Union. The European Parliament gave its consent to the Agreement in parallel. The Rada also voted in favour of Ukraine submitting an application for EU membership.

On 25 September, President Poroshenko announced that Ukraine would submit a bid for membership of the EU in 2020.

We have consistently made clear our position that any European country that meets the criteria should be able to apply for EU membership; this includes Ukraine, if that is what the people of Ukraine want. Countries must meet all the rigorous conditions of membership in full before joining the EU. No bilateral representations on this issue have been received.