The Ukrainian government has met only two of the seven criteria for accession negotiations with the EU. Diplomats announced this on Wednesday. Corruption remains a major obstacle.
“The main obstacles for Ukraine are the reform of the Constitutional Court and the fight against corruption and oligarchs,” a diplomat said in Brussels on Wednesday. On the other hand, the country has implemented the Brussels recommendations to reduce political influence on the media and reform the judiciary. This means that five of the seven criteria for accession talks have not yet been met.
According to her own statement, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has “no doubt” that Ukraine will one day join the EU (see video above). The government has accelerated its reform agenda with “impressive speed and determination”. Member states must unanimously decide to start talks. The basis for this is the written progress report on the candidate countries that the EU Commission plans for October.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to start accession negotiations by the end of the year. However, some governments, such as the German and Dutch governments, have recently shown restraint.
Schallenberg for accession of the Western Balkans
Meanwhile, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) wants to continue the accession of the Western Balkan countries. “With the right focus on Ukraine, the EU should not lose sight of the countries of Southeastern Europe,” he said. These include Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. These have long had accession candidate status. In these cases, too, the decision to start talks was positive.
Source: Krone
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