The leaders of the branches of power signed a joint statement in the Verkhovna Rada for the sake of achieving the strategic goal of Ukraine's membership in the EU.

"We need to prepare our country for the start of negotiations on EU membership. Membership in the EU is not geopolitics or the implementation of a certain political will, these are special things, benefits that it brings to every person in Ukraine, every company, every state institution in Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a speech at the Verkhovna Rada, which was also attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link.

"Many decisions will depend on the Verkhovna Rada, on each deputy, on how you, the members of parliament, are ready to work on these decisions, how you are ready to coordinate your work with the government and diplomats. The association agreement is 63 per cent implemented, 37 per cent is a task for all of us", he said.

But as Zelensky stressed, lawmakers must focus their work on drafting necessary legislation.

"It's not going to be easy. Even if you know that some of your decisions will not be met with applause, but these are necessary decisions in order to move Ukraine forward, you must make such decisions," he said.

Zelensky also announced the signing of a joint statement as a sign of unity among all branches of government on the road to EU membership.

"Today we are signing a joint statement, which is a signal of unity of all branches of government and proof of our desire to achieve the strategic goal of full membership in the European Union," Zelensky said.

According to him, signing this statement is as important as signing the application for EU membership.

"We needed 115 days to get EU candidate status. Our path to full membership should not take decades. We have to go as fast as we can, and it's up to us to move as fast as we can. We must do our job flawlessly so that our friends in the EU can make another historic decision just as quickly," Zelenski said. The statement, in addition to him, was also signed by the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denis Shmygal.

We shall remind you that the head of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that parliament would strive to pass all the laws related to Kiev's EU accession commitments by 2025.