The president of the European Commission praised, this Friday, the reforms carried out by the kyiv government, for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. But, the head of the communal executive recalled that the process does not have “rigid calendars” and depends on objectives.
However, Ursula von der Leyen praised kyiv’s efforts to bring Ukraine closer to European standards, declaring herself “deeply impressed”.
“I want to congratulate you on the precision, quality and speed with which you [as reformas]”, he stressed, considering that “this is phenomenal”, given the particular conditions in which the process is progressing.
“You are at war, and while you are at war and you are defending your country from the aggressor, you are able to do one reform after another and whatever it takes to get ahead,” he said.
Regarding comparisons with other accession processes, which have been going on for years, the President of the European Commission recalled that community construction began with six member states, and today, in a club of 27 member states, each case is different .
“There are 21 different histories of negotiations for accession to the European Union, and this shows that there is not a one-size-fits-all event, but that it depends a lot on the candidate country and how it progresses,” the president stressed. from the Commission taking part in a press conference at the end of the Summit with Ukraine held in kyiv.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, admits that the discussion on Ukraine’s accession will reach the level of European governments at the end of this year. The Belgian even admits that “at the end of the year, the European Council will have to address the question of what will be the next step in terms of the accession process.”
But, Ursula von der Leyen recalls that accession depends on reforms and the negotiations do not have a defined term. “The accession process is a merit-based process. That is, there are no rigid schedules, but there are objectives that must be met, ”she defended.
Ukraine’s status as a candidate country for membership of the European Union was recognized on June 23, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the formal application for membership on February 28, four days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On the eve of the kyiv summit, the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmygal, has expressed the desire for rapid accession to the European Union. Denys Shmygal considered that the holding of these meetings is “a strong signal” for the “enemies of Ukraine”.
Source: TSF
