European Commission recommends starting accession talks with Ukraine

European Commission recommends starting accession talks with Ukraine (Getty Images)

The European Commission has called on European Union member states to begin negotiations on the integration of Ukraine and Moldova, citing Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Euractiv.

According to the European Commission, Ukraine and Moldova are sufficiently prepared for the formal start of negotiations on EU accession.

Ukraine, in turn, has fully completed all four steps of reform, while Moldova has completed three. Reform was necessary to start official negotiations. Regarding Kyiv, this included:

・Fighting corruption;

・Deoligarchization;

・Protection of national minorities;

・Restrictions on political lobbying.

Ukraine's reaction

In response, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal expressed gratitude for the positive assessment of Ukraine's progress towards European integration.

"The stated conclusion of the EC says that Ukraine continues its systematic efforts towards EU accession and has completed all four additional reform steps. Now we expect our European partners to take the next step - to begin membership negotiations with the European Union this month. The Ukrainian people daily fight for the right to be part of the European family in the war against the Russian aggressor," he wrote.

Ukraine's path to EU membership

Ukraine applied for EU membership at the end of February 2022, just days after Russia launched the full-scale war.

In June 2022, the European Commission presented its findings on the application, and that same month, all EU member states granted Ukraine candidate status for accession to the EU.

By November 8, 2023, the European Commission recommended to the EU Council to start negotiations with Ukraine regarding accession, and in December of the same year, the Euro Summit adopted a decision to open negotiations with Ukraine regarding accession.