European Council President Charles Michel praised Ukraine’s “political will” to move forward with European reforms, but stressed that it is time to wait for the European Commission’s evaluation report after the summer.
Euskaraz irakurri: Bat egites negoziazioen data zehazteari uko egin dio EBk, Ukrainak “lehenbailehen” egitea eskatu badu ere
The European Union has avoided setting deadlines for the opening of accession negotiations to the blocdespite the insistence of the president, Volodimir Zelensky, to speed up the accession process to take this step “as soon as possible”.
This is evident from the press conference after the meeting, in which Zelensky set himself the target, in the presence of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the opening of negotiations this year. “We have already started preparations and are waiting for the respective decisions of the Commission and the Council. The goal is to start negotiations this year, it is not a goal, but the main goal,” the Ukrainian president stressed.
Faced with Zelensky’s push, community leaders have pointed out that the EU accession process is based on the merits of the candidates themselves, so there is no set calendar. “There are no fixed deadlines, but objectives that must be achieved. Reforms to improve the situation in the candidate country in order to then open accession negotiations and achieve accession to the EU,” von der Leyen assured at the press conference.
Michel in turn praised the Ukraine’s “political will” to move forward with European reforms but he has insisted that it is time to wait for the evaluation report from the European Commission after the summer. As he noted, “by the end of the year” the European Council will be able to discuss the next steps in Ukraine’s accession. “We will have to study the report and make decisions unanimously,” he said.
This same balance is reflected in the Brussels-Kiev joint statement, which emphasizes the European commitment to greater integration of Ukraine, but also makes it clear that the block will determine the steps to follow “once all the conditions set out in the Commission’s opinion are fully met”.
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Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
