Bilateral Meeting between Ukraine and the European Commission on Negotiation Chapter 33 “Financial and Budgetary Provisions” Held in Brussels

On September 11, a bilateral meeting between Ukraine and the European Commission took place in Brussels (Belgium) on Negotiation Chapter 33 “Financial and Budgetary Provisions,” an important stage of the screening process to assess the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with EU law.

The Ukrainian delegation presented the overall architecture of the EU Own Resources System and plans for its further development, in particular regarding customs revenues, the VAT-based resource, Gross National Income (GNI), and plastic waste. Special attention was given to transparency, integrity, anti-corruption, and information exchange.

“Ukraine has already come a long way on its path to EU membership and reaffirms its commitment to European values and principles. We are adapting national legislation, strengthening institutional capacity, and have already made tangible progress in aligning our customs and tax systems with EU standards. At the same time, we are building a system that will ensure transparent administration of the EU’s own resources. This is a complex process, but it is key for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. Our goal is transparency and efficiency of Ukraine’s financial system in line with European standards,” said Yuriy Draganchuk, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine for European Integration, who also expressed gratitude to the European Commission for its continuous support and partnership in the European integration process, especially important for Ukraine in the context of russia’s full-scale aggression.

The Ukrainian delegation also included Roksolana Pidlasa, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Chair of the Budget Committee, Volodymyr Tsabal, Member of the Verkhovna Rada, Vladyslav Suvorov, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Yevheniia Samsonenko, Acting Director of the Legal Entities Taxation Department of the State Tax Service, Iryna Nikitina, Director of the National Accounts Statistics Department of the State Statistics Service, Olena Kalashnyk, Chief Specialist at the Department of Waste Management and Environmental Consequences of Military Operations, Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, and Dmytro Mantsurov, Head of the European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Department of the Ministry of Finance.

On the EU side, the meeting was chaired by Andrea Scionti, DG NEAR, with introductory remarks by Anna Jarosz-Friis, Director, Ukraine Service, DG NEAR, and Tomasz Kucirek, Head of Unit B4 – Revenue Inspections, Control and Enforcement, DG BUDG. The meeting also brought together Kornelija Valentelyte, Head of Sector, DG BUDG, Edward Kok, Policy Officer, DG BUDG, Iulia-Catalina Neagu, Policy Officer, DG BUDG, and Olga Dikovich-Kukulske, Policy Officer, DG BUDG.

The meeting confirmed the readiness of Ukraine and the European Union to continue cooperation and deepen financial integration. Based on the results of the screening, Ukraine will further refine its plan for implementing EU legislation and strengthening cooperation with the European Commission.