During a visit to Kyiv, President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission stated to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the EU executive’s decision on Ukraine’s request for membership would be available by next week.
Von der Leyen stated that Saturday’s talks with Zelenskiy would allow them to “finalise our assessment by next week” about Ukraine’s eligibility to become a member.
This move, which was widely anticipated, would only be the first step in a long-term process.
The @EU_Commission is preparing ⁰our recommendation for EU Member States.⁰⁰My discussions today with @ZelenskyyUa and @Denys_Shmyhal will enable us to finalise our assessment.⁰⁰The path is known.
I appreciate the efforts and determination of Ukraine in this process. pic.twitter.com/wBJmOJ2P5x
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
All 27 EU countries would need to agree to Ukraine’s candidate status. After that, there would be intensive talks about the reforms needed before Kyiv could consider joining.
Von der Leyen reminded Zelenskiy on her second visit to Kyiv following the February start of the war.
She stated that although you have made a lot of progress in strengthening the rule of law, reforms are still needed to combat corruption.
Zelenskiy stated the same thing at the briefing: “All Europe is a target of Russia, and Ukraine is just the beginning stage in this aggression.”
“This is why a positive EU reaction to Ukraine’s application for membership could be a positive answer on the question of whether or not the European project has any future.”
