Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the European Commission supports initiating talks for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Ukraine has fulfilled all four recommendations provided by the European Commission in November last year.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the European Commission for its positive evaluation of Ukraine’s progress towards European integration.
Shmyhal’s Statement on the European Commission’s Decision
Shmyhal emphasized that the European Commission’s conclusion indicates that Ukraine continues its systematic efforts to join the EU and has completed all four additional reform steps. He stated, “Now we expect our European partners to take the next step – the beginning of membership negotiations with the European Union this month.”
The Prime Minister highlighted that the Ukrainian people are fighting daily for the right to be part of the European family in their war against the Russian aggressor.
Current Status of Ukraine’s Membership Negotiations
A senior EU diplomat noted that a closed meeting of ambassadors is currently taking place in Brussels, where they are discussing the draft negotiation framework for Ukraine and the convening of the first intergovernmental conference. Moldova has also met all conditions for opening accession negotiations with the EU.
After the European Commission’s oral report on Ukraine’s readiness to start membership talks, almost all member states received and agreed with the reports, requesting the European Commission to hold intergovernmental conferences with Ukraine and Moldova by the end of the month.
Several member states emphasized the need to continue advancing the accession talks with the Western Balkan countries, mentioning Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania.
The senior EU diplomat mentioned that the Netherlands needs to undergo a parliamentary procedure based on the report, but the assessment for starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova was positive. Hungary, however, expressed doubts about the Commission’s evaluation and still wants to see certain aspects addressed in the negotiations, although this was not a topic of the current discussions.
Potential Start of Negotiations in June
- According to Financial Times, the European Commission aims to advocate for starting Ukraine’s accession negotiations in June, along with Moldova. The authors highlighted that the Commission seeks to act quickly before Hungary assumes the EU presidency, fearing that the Hungarian leadership might attempt to sabotage Ukraine’s assistance and accession steps.
- The European Commission plans to announce on June 7 that Ukraine meets the criteria for anti-corruption measures, restrictions on political lobbying, asset declaration rules for officials, and protection of minority languages. Despite this, the publication noted that Ukraine has not yet fully implemented all anti-corruption measures.
- The start of negotiations does not guarantee quick EU membership and does not provide a 100% assurance of accession, as the progress and duration of talks depend on the pace of reforms in the candidate country and the political will of EU member states.
- Previously, 12 EU member states called for negotiations to start on Ukraine and Moldova’s EU accession in June 2024. Czech Minister of European Affairs Martin Dvořák initiated a letter to the EU Council supporting the membership talks. The letter was signed by 11 other EU member states: Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovakia.
