09:25 PM
Friday 03 February 2023
Brussels – (dpa):
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he expects to start formal negotiations on EU membership by the end of this year.
“The goal is to start negotiations this year, and this is not just a goal, but a very big goal,” Zelensky said in Kyiv, alongside him, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
Michel said, “Ukraine and the European Union are one family… Ukraine’s future is within the European Union,” without specifying a timetable for that.
“Your determination to move forward is exciting,” von der Leyen said. She acknowledged the reforms undertaken by Ukraine despite the ongoing war, but added that the process of joining the European bloc “does not have a strict timetable”.
Joining the European Union is a very complex process, marked by many long steps of legal reforms and compliance with EU rules.
It has already taken more than ten years to advance from the status of a candidate, which Ukraine has held since last summer, to formal talks.
A joint statement, issued after the meeting, stated Ukraine’s intention to start negotiations “as soon as possible”, without specifying a specific date.
A formal review of Kyiv’s efforts to meet a group of police to enter formal negotiations to join the bloc is due later this year.
Among Ukraine’s tasks is to reform the selection process for Constitutional Court judges, launch a campaign to combat corruption and money laundering, and approve a law that curbs excessive influence of businessmen.
At the end of a two-day visit to Kyiv by several senior EU officials, von der Leyen and Charles Michel reaffirmed the bloc’s unwavering support for Ukraine, as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country approaches.
“The European Union will support you in every possible way as long as necessary,” Michel said.
“We will not be intimidated, and we will not be intimidated by the Kremlin,” he added.
