European Commission Recommends To Start Ukraine And Moldova EU Accession Talks
- 8.11.2023, 14:33
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made a statement.
The European Commission officially recommended starting the process of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, announced this today.
The European Commission has prepared a report on the progress made by Ukraine and other applicants regarding joining the EU. It contains recommendations to start EU accession talks.
Details are reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the annual EC Report.
Ukraine's path to the EU
Membership application
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Ukraine’s application to join the European Union under a special procedure at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. This happened on February 28, 2022.
Later, Ukraine filled out two parts of the EC questionnaire to assess the possibility of obtaining candidate status for EU membership.
Candidate status
On June 8 last year, the European Parliament approved a resolution in support of granting candidate status to Ukraine, and on June 17, the European Commission issued a positive conclusion on the status and put forward seven demands.
Subsequently, on June 23, 2022, the European Council granted Ukraine candidate status for accession to the European Union. This decision was unanimously supported by all the leaders of the bloc.
The European Commission also announced its first oral assessment of our candidate country for EU membership.
Accession negotiations
The next step on Ukraine's path to the EU is a recommendation to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union, as discussed today in the EC annual report.
Also, the accession talks are at the very beginning. After all, EU member states still have to make an official decision in December this year.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that they expect negotiations to begin before the end of 2023. To do this, Ukraine needs to implement seven recommendations of the European Commission.
What are the EU requirements?
Along with the status of a candidate for EU membership, Ukraine received a list of requirements that must be met for further progress along the path of European integration, namely:
Reformation of the Constitutional Court according to the recommendations of the Venice Commission;
Further reformation of the judicial system;
Strengthening countering corruption, appointing a new head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine and a new director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine;
Adoption of an anti-money laundering law;
Embodiment of the anti-oligarchic law;
Introduction of an independent media regulator, harmonization of legislation on audiovisual media services with European legislation;
Completion of the reform of legislation on national minorities.
Back in September of this year, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that at the government level, Ukraine had fully completed the implementation of all seven recommendations of the EU, whose opinion did not quite coincide with the bloc’s assessments.
Thus, on June 22, European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi reported that Ukraine had fulfilled two of the seven recommendations for the start of negotiations on accession to the EU. He “implementation stage” for the rest.
At the same time, yesterday the media reported that the European Commission considers four of the seven requirements fully met by Ukraine and recommends starting talks on accession to the EU. There were comments regarding the fight against corruption, the policy of national minorities and limiting the influence of oligarchs.
At the same time, Bloomberg, citing sources, wrote that the EC may recommend starting formal negotiations with Ukraine only after it completes all reforms and takes steps on legislation regarding national minorities, the fight against corruption, as well as de-oligarchization and lobbying.
When can Ukraine become a member of the EU?
After candidacy, there is a stage of negotiations between the applicant country and the members of the European Union. The discussion is divided into dozens of sections related to the basic laws, rights and responsibilities that unite all the members..
It is possible to sign EU membership agreement only after consistent agreement and implementation of reforms. The document must be approved by the Council of the EU, separately by the parliaments of each country of the European Union and by a majority vote of the European Parliament.
Also, the accession procedure may last from several years to decades.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna recently shared her ambitious plan for joining the EU. In her opinion, Ukraine can join the European Union within two years. The government and President Volodymyr Zelensky have similar hopes.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is more cautious in her assessments, as she stated that there are no clear deadlines regarding Ukraine’s membership.
At the same time, President of the European Council Charles Michel suggested that the Western Balkans and EU member states should be ready for the expansion of the bloc by 2030.
At the same time, the EU representatives reassured that the term voiced by Charles Michel is considered only as a guideline. This process will go faster thanks to Ukraine.