EU enlargement process requires unanimous decisions - Ambassador
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The problem of vetoes within the European Union is unlikely to be resolved, as EU enlargement requires unanimous decisions by its members, says EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová in a blitz interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"One needs to deal with the fact that EU enlargement is subject to unanimity, any single member state has the possibility to postpone, block, etc. individual steps. And I think that the other current candidate countries could tell you stories about it. You know, Ukraine is not the first one, probably not the last one where this will happen," she said.
According to her, patience is needed to deal with it.
"Since, in the case of Ukraine, there are bilateral issues with one of the countries, our best advice is to engage, talk, discuss, look for solutions, how to overcome potential differences. Because yes, the way the enlargement process is set up, it is subject to unanimous agreement at every step of the way," the ambassador explained.
Mathernová adds that there is no magic formula for resolving issues other than discussions, negotiations, outreach, diplomatic work, etc.
Ukraine's EU accession
On June 25, negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU were officially launched at the First Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg.
According to Mathernová, Ukraine's accession to the EU may take less time than in other countries. The realistic date seems to be 2030.
Earlier, Estonian Ambassador to Ukraine Annely Kolk said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU could take less than ten years.
