The government of Ukraine supports the creation of a European Political Community (EPC) but wants its expectations to be taken into account.

Olha Stefanishyna, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, said this in a video interview with "European Pravda" in Prague, where the European Union summit is taking place.

Stefanishyna emphasized that Ukraine agreed to participate in the European Political Community in the summer when French President Emmanuel Macron presented it.

"We were informed about this initiative initially, even when we applied for the EU candidacy. Then President Macron assured us that the EPC is not an alternative to our EU accession," she emphasized.

However, Ukraine informed its partners about its expectations at the Prague summit.

"We suggested this platform to become a platform for discussing security and defence issues in a military-strategic format," she said.

Also, practically, Ukraine would like the EPC to focus on trade, namely on the full integration of Ukraine into the EU market.

"We propose prioritizing integration into the European market for the countries willing to join the European Union. We understand that accession negotiations will last for some time. But we should already be part of the common market. We should build up our competitiveness," said Olha Stefanishyna.

 Olha Stefanishyna is also convinced that Ukraine's EU accession will be completed by 2030.