Parliamentary meeting: 4th meeting of the Italy-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Group

The fourth meeting of the Italy-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Group, held at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome, focused on Italy's support for Ukraine and its path to EU membership. It was chaired by Giorgio Mulè, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, with a Verkhovna Rada delegation led by Serhii Alieksieiev and Ihor Brusylo, Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy; I spoke at the invitation of the Chamber.

At the invitation of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, I took part in the fourth meeting of the Parliamentary Cooperation Group between the Chamber of Deputies and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, held at Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome. The trip also included a separate seminar for staff of the Chamber and the Senate, conversations at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussions with experts of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI).

What was discussed

• The meeting was chaired by Giorgio Mulè, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Serhii Alieksieiev; Ihor Brusylo, Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy, also took part.
• The agenda covered Italy's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and Ukraine's path to EU membership. Mulè described enlargement as "a strategic investment in the security, stability and prosperity of the whole continent".
• The group adopted a joint statement and agreed to meet next in Ukraine after the summer recess.
• The seminar for staff of the Chamber and the Senate covered the negotiating process, the opening of clusters, reforms in wartime and Ukraine's gradual integration into EU policies and the Single Market.

My points

• Ukraine does not ask for exceptional treatment in the accession process. Requirements on reforms and the rule of law must remain the same for all candidates. Yet Ukraine's accession is objectively an exceptional case.
• The negotiations are taking place amid a full-scale war, heavy losses of productive capacity and high defence and social spending. This is no ground for lowering the requirements, but the context should be taken into account when setting the pace and the instruments of Ukraine's integration.
• Otherwise a contradiction arises: Ukraine is aligning its legislation with the EU acquis and preparing to participate in the Single Market, while Ukrainian business continues to fall automatically under regimes designed for ordinary third countries.
• The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the new regime protecting the European steel market show this contradiction well. Decarbonisation and the protection of European industry are needed. But if Ukraine's private sector loses competitiveness, the EU will gain not a stronger future member but a country that needs even more external support.

Takeaways from Rome

• Italy consistently supports merit-based enlargement and Ukraine's European integration. This support is not a carte blanche: it depends directly on real progress and on positive assessments by the European Commission. Conversations at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussions with IAI experts confirmed this.
• The good news is that there is readiness to support the opening of the remaining negotiating clusters this year.
• The Commission's autumn report will carry great weight. What Ukraine does in the coming months will shape not only its wording but also the chances of starting the provisional closure of individual negotiating chapters in 2027.
• This matters all the more given next year's political calendar: the presidential election in France, the parliamentary election in Poland and the EU budget process will absorb a growing share of European governments' attention.